WPS - Starting Point

WPS Starting Point
Rev 1
© 2011
For more information contact:
Halliburton Energy Services Fort Worth Training Center

1128 Everman Parkway
Fort Worth, Texas 76140
U.S.A.
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Introduction
This document was prepared as supporting material for the Wireline and Perforating Services (WPS)
Technical Training Program (TTP). It covers many, but not all modules presented during the 3 week
course. You will not find included here, „Explosive User Safety‟ & „Radiation Safety, Well-Logging
Assistant‟ – both are available in iLearn.
Specific tool information is available from Technical Services documentation, posted on the WPS
portal. For detailed operations procedures, consult the online „WPS – Halliburton Management
System‟ (HMS).
Drilling rig operations are covered in the Technomedia „Oil well Drilling‟ series.
Some of the material included here is edited from the manual „EL-1007; Open-hole Log Analysis &
Formation Evaluation‟ 1991, which was revised by Dale Heysse. Contributors included: Calvin
Kessler, David Hampton, Paul Harness, Milt Enderlin, Doug Seifert & Richard Bateman on whose
work EL-1007 was based.
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Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................3
Chapter 1 – Of Rocks & Fluids ....................................................................................................................8
Hydrocarbons ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Conventional Hydrocarbons....................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Unconventional Hydrocarbons ................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Geology – The Study of the Earth ........................................................................................................................................................... 10
Geology – The composition of the earth .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Geology – Weathering and Erosion ......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Geology – Rocks ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Geology – Traps ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Locating Reservoirs ................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Reservoirs ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 19
Drilling ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Drilling Mud .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Mud Additives .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Muds & Logging ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Chapter 2 – Wireline Measurements .........................................................................................................26
Natural Gamma Ray ................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Origin of Natural Gamma Rays ................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Tool Physics............................................................................................................................................................................................. 26
Operational Issues ................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Use of the GR .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma Ray .......................................................................................................................................... 28
Density ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Tool Physics............................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
Uses of the Density .................................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Neutron (TTP Module) ............................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Tool Physics............................................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Uses of the Neutron ................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
Spontaneous Potential ............................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Source of the SP ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Recording the SP ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Factors Affecting the SP .......................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Use of the SP ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 39
Operational issues ................................................................................................................................................................................... 39
Resistivity ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 40
Origins ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 40
Laterolog .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 42
Measurement Technique ......................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Tool Physics............................................................................................................................................................................................. 43
Uses of the Laterolog ............................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Micro-resistivity ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 44
Induction .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 45
Measurement Technique ......................................................................................................................................................................... 45
Factors Affecting the Induction ................................................................................................................................................................ 46
Use of the Induction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 46
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Operational issues .................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Sonic......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52
Tool Physics ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Operational Issues.................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Uses of the Sonic ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Cement Bond Log..................................................................................................................................................................................... 55
Tool Physics ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 55
Tool design ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 56
Tool response ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 57
Uses of the CBL ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Ultrasonic tools ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Chapter 3 – Wireline Operations ...............................................................................................................60
Practical Wireline Electronics ................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Logging System ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Power ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Circuit Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Capacitance & Inductance ....................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Transformers ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 62
Wireline..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Cable model ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 63
Power transmission .................................................................................................................................................................................. 64
AC & DC power transmission techniques ................................................................................................................................................ 64
Communication – Data ............................................................................................................................................................................. 65
Troubleshooting ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 65
Resistance, Resistivity, Conductivity & Electric Fields ............................................................................................................................. 67
Ohm’s Law & Darcy’s Equation – similarity .............................................................................................................................................. 67
References ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 67
Tool Mnemonics, PM1 & Connector Conventions ................................................................................................................................... 68
Tool Mneumonics Background ................................................................................................................................................................. 70
Preventative Maintenance ........................................................................................................................................................................ 68
Connectors ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Open Hole Tool Mneumonics ................................................................................................................................................................... 71
Cased Hole Tool Mneumonics ................................................................................................................................................................. 72
General Mneumonics ............................................................................................................................................................................... 73
Cable Care ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 74
Construction .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 74
Electrical ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 76
Weak-point Selection ........................................................................................................................................................................ 78
Getting stuck ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Tension measurement ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 79
Weak points ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 79
Ideal weak point ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 80
Maximum Safe Pull ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 81
Minimum & Maximum pull-out tension ............................................................................................................................................................. 81
Cased-hole weak points ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 82
Depth and Tension ............................................................................................................................................................................ 83
Tension ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 83
Depth ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 83
Stretch ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84
Wheel calibration factor ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 84
Winch Control & Vertical make-up................................................................................................................................................ 85
Winch control ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 85
Vertical make-up ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 85
Horizontal tool make-up ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 86
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Rigging up/down tips .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 86
Running in hole (RIH)/ logging/pulling out of hole (POOH) etc ............................................................................................................... 88
Pressure ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 96
WHPC Hardware ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 96
Operational procedures ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 100
Arriving on location: .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 101
During logging: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 102
Rigging down: ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 102
References .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 102
Chapter 4 – Other Product Service Lines...............................................................................................105
Completions....................................................................................................................................................................................... 105
Hardware .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 105
Artificial Lift ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 108
Pump Jack ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 108
Hydraulic Pumps .................................................................................................................................................................................... 108
Electrical Submersible Pumps ESP ....................................................................................................................................................... 109
Gas Lift ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 109
Plunger Lift ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 109
Progressive-Cavity Pump ...................................................................................................................................................................... 109
Cementing .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 111
Design ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 111
Hardware .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 111
Volumes .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112
Additives ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112
Pumping Schedule ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 113
Formations & Fluid flow ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 115
Production Optimization ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 117
Proppant Fracturing .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 117
Design Calculations .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 118
Pumping Schedule ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 118
Additives ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 119
Coiled Tubing ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 120
Reserve Estimation ......................................................................................................................................................................... 122
Oil & Gas in – place Estimation ........................................................................................................................................................................ 123
Reserve Estimation............................................................................................................................................................................................... 124
Recovery Factors .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 124
Formation Volume Factors ................................................................................................................................................................................. 124
Depth and Net Pay Measurements ................................................................................................................................................................. 124
Deviated Wells & Dipping Beds........................................................................................................................................................................ 124
Reservoir Volumes................................................................................................................................................................................................ 125
Rock – Fluid Systems..................................................................................................................................................................... 126
The Genesis of Reservoir Rocks ..................................................................................................................................................................... 127
Porosity ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 127
Permeability ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 127
Fluid Distribution in the Reservoir .................................................................................................................................................................... 128
Relative Permeability ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 129
Relative Permeability Ratios.............................................................................................................................................................................. 130
Imbibition and Drainage ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 130
Measurement of Porosity .................................................................................................................................................................................... 130
Measurement of Permeability ........................................................................................................................................................................... 130
Measurement of Saturation................................................................................................................................................................................ 131
Water Resistivity .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 131
Saturation ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 132
Practical Petrophysics ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 132
Averaging ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 133
Summary .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 133
Coring .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 134
Wireline Coring ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 135
Conventional Coring ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 136
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Summary .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 136
Measurement While Drilling .......................................................................................................................................................... 137
MWD Measurements ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 137
MWD Telemetry ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 137
MWD Surface Equipment ................................................................................................................................................................................... 138
Tool Features ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 47
Tool Theory ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49
Borehole Correction................................................................................................................................................................................................ 50
High Resolution Array Induction Log – Sensitivity to Invasion ................................................................................................................ 51
Dielectric.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 139
Measurement Technique .................................................................................................................................................................................... 139
Factors Affecting the Dielectric ......................................................................................................................................................................... 139
Use of the Dielectric ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 140
Appendix II – Office Procedures .................................................................................................141
Outlook Properties, ESS & Expenses (TTP Module) ........................................................................................................... 141
Outlook Properties ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 142
ESS .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 146
Expenses .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 147
References .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 157
Appendix III – Logging Support ..................................................................................................158
Portal Overview & Report posting (TTP Module) .................................................................................................................. 158
Appendix IV – Tool Specifications .............................................................................................170
HALWORLD....................................................................................................................................................................................... 170
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Chapter 1 – Of Rocks & Fluids
For hydrocarbons to be found we need the following pre-requisites: source, pathway, reservoir,
trap and a seal. This section outlines the each of these requirements.
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons are one of the most important fuel sources in the world today; they are of utmost
importance for transportation and power generation. They offer very high specific energies and are
convenient to use. They are fossil fuels; trapped in place millions of years ago and include coal, gas
and oil. They are a finite resource. Wireline Logging is primarily concerned with identifying the
location, quality and quantity of these resources, essentially crude oil and gas.
Hydrocarbons are the result of the accumulation of small aquatic organisms in warm shallow seas
and lakes. These accumulations were deposited millions of years ago, in the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic eras, together with inorganic sediments. The fine inorganic sediments which contain this
material is eventually converted to rock. Under the action of anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that do not
require oxygen to live), the organic material is converted into Kerogen, which is then altered by heat
and pressure to form oil and gas deposits. In some cases, the hydrocarbon fluids are displaced by
increasing pressure from the buildup of sediments (overburden) and eventually accumulate in the
conventional reservoirs we drill today. These source rocks are often shales; since they accumulate in
the low energy environment found where the organic material tends to accumulate. The calm
environment found at the bottom of a sea prevents disturbing the sediments and stops oxygen from
mixing into the sediments. While the permeability of shale is extremely low (they are considered
impermeable by conventional standards) in the course of geologic time, the hydrocarbons can move
out of the shale and into reservoir rocks.
Fossils – AGI Shale

Many geologists believe that much of the ‘easy’ oil and gas has already been found and that future
extraction will require ever more sophisticated technology and energy input. Giant oil and gas fields
which were once prolific producers are now in decline and the search is intense to locate economic
reserves in many parts of the world. Attention has turned in some instances to non-conventional
reserves as a way of offsetting the decline in conventional oil and gas.
A term that is used to quantify the ‘energy cost’ of hydrocarbon extraction is EROEI (energy return on
energy invested), the term is self-explanatory; essentially it tells us how much energy we get from our
produced hydrocarbon in relation to how much energy is invested to obtain the hydrocarbon. Much of
the controversy surrounding EROEI is related to how far back into the energy chain we should go to
make this calculation. Ultimately this is an economic decision. Obviously when oil fetches $100 a
barrel, companies can afford to spend more money to produce it versus $20 a barrel.
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Conventional Hydrocarbons
Oil & Gas; petroleum fluids, are found in many countries all over the world. Crude oil is classified by
API „number‟, heavy viscous oils have low API numbers, light crudes have higher numbers. The
Specific Gravity (SG) is the ratio of the density of the hydrocarbon to the density of fresh water which
is 8.33 #/gal. Utilizing the API Gravity equation below would yield an API gravity for fresh water of 10.
API Gravity = (141.5/ SG) – 131.5

Behavior of these fluids is described by a phase diagram which is often plotted as a function of
reservoir temperature and pressure. Bringing petroleum fluids from downhole conditions to surface
conditions results in compositional changes, as gas is released and oil volume „shrinks‟. This
“shrinkage” is called the Formation Volume Factor, β0 , and represents the ratio of the oil at downhole
conditions compared to the volume at standard conditions. It normally ranges between 1 and 1.6.
Reservoir volumes are usually expressed at standard conditions (60 degF @ 1Atm).
Temperature and pressure are a function of depth; both contribute to the process of changing solid
hydrocarbon (Kerogen) into Oil & Gas. At relatively shallow depths, biogenic gas tends to form, at
intermediate depths Kerogen matures to form oil and thermogenic gas and at greater depths only
gas will likely be found. Further increases in depth (and hence temperature and pressure) result in the
degradation of hydrocarbons. The set of conditions (temperature and pressure) under which
petroleum is formed is termed the „petroleum window‟.
Unconventional Hydrocarbons
„Tar‟ sands, bituminous sands, oil sands; though technically not tar, these sands contain viscous,
heavy oil. Extraction can be through viscosity reduction; using steam or solvent injection, or the sands
can be strip mined and processed on surface, if the accumulations are not too deep. Major
accumulations are found in Canada and Venezuela; in the US „tar‟ sands are found in Utah.
Oil shales; not necessarily shale – and accumulations of organic material are in the form of Kerogen –
not oil! Further processing of the Kerogen is either in-situ or at surface. Essentially the material has to
be heated and the resulting vapor condensed, in order to generate synthetic oil or gas through
pyrolysis. Major accumulations are found in Brazil, Russia and the US.
Gas shales; are often the source beds for hydrocarbons. While their permeabilities are extremely low,
these organic rich shales are often brittle enough to allow modern fracturing techniques along with
horizontal drilling to provide an economical production increase. Some wells also produce oil in
addition to gas. Major accumulations are found in the Barnett, Woodford, Marcellus, Haynesville,
Mancos, Eagle Ford, and Bakken shales just to name a few in the US.
Coal Bed Methane; methane (Natural Gas) is adsorbed onto the coal surface and released
(desorbed) when pressure on the coal seam is reduced. Once a well is drilled, production is from
fractured „cleats‟ in the coal formation, production rates are strongly dependent on the degree of
fracturing or „cleat density‟. Both the US and Canada have deposits of coal bed methane.
Methane Hydrate; methane hydrate is found on the sea floor and in accumulations underground. It
exists in solid form and is present in sediments or sedimentary rock within a particular range of
temperature and pressure. One of the problems with this type of deposit is that it is often widely
dispersed and as a consequence may be uneconomical to extract with current technologies.
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Geology – The Study of the Earth
The earth is estimated to be 4.6 BILLION years old using the uranium-lead method which uses the
quantities of Uranium-235 related to its stable decay component Lead-207. . Dinosaurs appeared on
earth about 230 million years ago and went extinct about 65 million years ago The first Homonoids
appeared on the earth around 2 million years ago with Homo Sapian less than 300,000 years ago. As
you can see geologic time is very different from the human perspective of time.
Geologists break the age of the earth into 4 separate eras of time: The Cenozoic, the Mesozoic, the
Paleozoic, and the Pre-Cambrian, from youngest to oldest. The attached geologic timetable shows
the time range for each era and its constituent periods. Note that the majority of today‟s hydrocarbon
reservoirs were formed during the Mesozoic era. Geologists will often refer to the Period of the rock to
relate its age. For example, a Pennsylvanian rock will be around 265 million years old. They can
determine the age of the rock through radioactive half-life determination or some basic geologic
principles like examining fossils found in the rock.
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Geologic Principles
The principles of uniformitarianism, superposition, faunal succession, cross-cutting relationships and
original horizontality also help geologists determine the age of different rocks.
Uniformitarianism means that the geologic processes which occur today operate the same as those
that occurred in the past.
Superposition says that in a series of undisturbed formations, the oldest formation is at the bottom of
the sequence.
Faunal succession indicates that the simpler the fossils, the older the rock.
Cross-cutting and intrusive relationship simply states that the older formation is cut by the
younger.
Original horizontality refers to the fact that sediments are normally deposited horizontally.
By utilizing these basic principles, a geologist works much like a CSI technician trying to determine
what happened in the past to create the formation they are examining.
Geology – The composition of the earth

The earth is not a solid ball of dirt. It is actually composed of 3 components. A central core consisting
of a solid iron/nickel inner center surrounded by a liquid outer core. These are surrounded by a plastic
mantle and finally a rigid crust. The crust is primarily made of silicon, oxygen, and aluminum.
Earth model - USGS
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The crust is actually composed of 14 major and 38 smaller tectonic plates. These plates float on the
mantle constantly moving in different directions. Their position has changed significantly over the
millions of years of movement upon the mantle. The ancient oceans which are responsible for the
sediments which spurred our modern day hydrocarbons once covered a drastically different portion of
the earth compared to today‟s modern oceans. The tectonic forces generated by the plates are
responsible for many of the deformations of the earth‟s crust like faults and anticlines which can result
in the structures which are favorable for hydrocarbon reservoirs. The diagram below shows the
ancient supercontinent of Pangaea and how it split up and moved over the last 225 million years. The
rocks these plates are composed of undergo weathering and erosion to form the sediments from
which our hydrocarbon reservoirs are made from. It is interesting to note that areas which produce
hydrocarbon in the modern day were most often covered by oceans in the past in part due to the
movement of the plates. The Himalayas were formed by the collision of the Indo-Australian plate with
the Eurasian plate starting about 70 million years ago eventually closing off the Tethys Ocean. That
collision is still ongoing today and Mount Everest at a height of 29,035.44 feet grows about 2 inches
per year. The rocks found on Mount Everest are composed of sediments deposited in a marine
environment. The deposits in the Tethys Ocean are the source for much of the oil now being
produced in the Middle East.
Plate Tectonics - USGS
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Geology – Weathering and Erosion
The breakdown of rocks into sediments is accomplished through the process of weathering. There
are two basic classifications: Physical and Chemical. In physical weathering involves forces upon the
rock which cause it to crack or break into smaller blocks. This can be accomplished through changes
in stress or temperature or even from water expanding when it freezes. One result of physical
weathering is to increase the surface area of the rock which can then be acted upon by chemical
weathering causing the further breakdown of a rock into its constituents by oxidation, hydrolysis, and
carbonation. For example, many clays are the result of the weathering of feldspar, an abundant
mineral in igneous rock. Erosion is the actual movement of weathered particles typically by gravity,
water, air, or glaciers. Much erosion involves transport by water, such as a stream, alluvial, lacustrian,
a delta, a beach, deltaic, or other marine environments as well as well as non-water movement like
Aeolian (wind) transport, glacial or basic mass movement (gravity). The type of depositional
environment can often be determined by inspecting the actual makeup of the rock. This depositional
history can yield clues to additional properties we might expect within the reservoir like horizontal
versus vertical permeability, reservoir extent, drainage area, and help with determining the location of
the next well to be drilled.
Geology – Rocks
The sediments described, undergo changes due to temperature and pressure as they are converted
to the rocks we are typically confronted with when we log. Bear in mind that these sediments will most
likely have accumulated submerged in water (seas, lakes, swamps etc). They will gradually be
compacted by the weight of overlying materials; individual grains may be cemented together by the
precipitation of minerals in solution or clays. This process of converting loose sediments to solid rock
is known as lithification. Chemical changes (crystallization) may take place within and between the
rock minerals and surrounding fluids. Finally through compaction and heat the fluids contained in the
rock may be squeezed out or driven off (desiccation). The whole process is known as Diagenesis.
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Rocks are classified at a basic level into three types;
 Igneous
 Metamorphic
 Sedimentary
Igneous rocks are those that are formed from magma, the molten material produced from volcanic
activity, around 65% of the earths crust consists of this type of rock. Magma from a volcano which is
extruded onto the surface yields igneous rock (extrusive) with fine crystalline structure because of its
rapid cooling. Magma which cools underground in structures know as plutons (intrusive) can show
large crystals in its structure because of the time allowed for crystal growth before the rock hardens.
Igneous rock can be transformed into sedimentary rock through erosion and deposition, followed by
the changes described above. Metamorphic rocks are those which have been altered as a result of
intense heat and or pressure, deep under the earth‟s surface, about 27% of the earth surface consists
of this type of rock. These rocks may be eroded in the same way as igneous rocks and deposited as
sediments. Sedimentary rocks – which compose around 8% of the earth‟s crust, are formed from the
destruction of other rocks by weathering and depositional processes, they are the primary target for
the exploration geologist looking for hydrocarbons. Each of these rock types can be transformed into
the other, depending on the processes at work; this is often depicted by a rock cycle diagram.
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Sediments are of primary interest, they can be divided onto two categories Clastics and non-
Clastics. Clastics are formed from grains of different rocks and classified by grain size, starting
from large conglomerates, through finer Sandstones & siltstones to very fine grained Shale. Non-
Clastic rocks typically form from precipitation of minerals are further split into Chemical or bio-
Chemical. Within those groups, the rock types of interest are carbonates i.e. Limestone or Dolomite
and to a lesser degree Evaporites such as Anhydrite, Gypsum and Halite.
 Igneous
 Metamorphic
 Sedimentary
o Clastic
 Conglomerate
 Sandstone (SiO2)
 Siltstone
 Shale
o Non-Clastic
 Chemical
Carbonates
o Limestone (CaCO3)
o Dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2
Evaporites
o Anhydrite (CaSO4)
o Gypsum (CaSO4.nH2O)
o Halite (NaCl)
 Bio-Chemical
Carbonates
o Limestone
Coal
Conglomerate – AGI Shale - AGI

Of the sedimentary hydrocarbon reservoirs that are known to exist around 60% are sandstone, 35%
are carbonate (either limestone or dolomite) and 5% are of other rock types.
Note: A reservoir is no more than a ‘sponge’, a place where fluids can accumulate; the actual source
of hydrocarbon is unlikely to be the reservoir rock itself, though in some instances this may be the
case. Metamorphic and Igneous rock formations are unlikely to be source rocks, conducive to
hydrocarbon generation, but hydrocarbon reservoirs of these rock types do exist. Evidently the
hydrocarbons migrated there from the original source rocks, found a place to accumulate, and were
trapped, to be found as crude oil or gas (i.e. not changed or degraded).
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Geology – Traps
From the point of view of hydrocarbon exploration, we are particularly interested in locating trapping
mechanisms, places where hydrocarbons can be prevented from escaping. We can divide such
mechanisms into two groups:
 Stratigraphic
 Structural
Structural traps are those related to the gross movement of formations and include anticlines and
faults (reverse and normal) In either case the trapping mechanism requires that fluids are prevented
from leaving the reservoir by some form of impermeable boundary (most often shale or an
evaporite). The first example of the fault below is known as a normal fault. A normal fault is one in
which the hanging wall moves down relative to the foot wall (which is what would normally happen
based solely on gravity) The second example which shows the foot wall and hanging wall is a reverse
fault.
Anticline
Normal Fault – AGI Reverse Fault - USGS
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Stratigraphic traps are those trapping mechanisms related to changes within a formation; examples
are Pinch-out, Lens and Unconformities. A pinch-out is where the reservoir rock thins, or is
„pinched-out‟ between impermeable shale formations, a lens is similar; an isolated sand body which
„pinches-out‟ in all directions. An unconformity is the result of erosion of a permeable formation
followed by the deposition of an impermeable shale barrier. A reef is another type of stratigraphic trap
formed by the accumulation of coral and calcareous material in an offshore marine environment
which are then covered over by impermeable shale and can be very prolific reservoirs.
Lenticular Trap – AGI Angular unconformity (Eroded monocline) – AGI
Locating Reservoirs
The question arises „How to locate potential reservoirs‟? It is useful to consider the scale of the
problem. At one extreme we are looking for very large structures, which may or may not be apparent
at the surface, this is taking a macro-view. At the other extreme we are investigating details of the
reservoir on a much smaller scale, possibly using Wireline techniques, this is more a micro-view.
Coverage on a large scale is achieved by resorting to satellite (which look for changes in the earth‟s
surface which might indicate changes in vegetation due to hydrocarbon seepage at the surface or
surface structures which might indicate underground trap), magnetic (which look for changes in the
earth‟s magnetic field which might indicate an intrusion of high iron content igneous rock which could
generate structure for a trap) or gravity (which look for changes in the earth‟s gravity which might
indicate an intrusion of a low density salt dome which could generate structure for a trap) surveys,
looking for anomalies that can be interpreted from large scale maps. In some instances hydrocarbons
may even be identified from shows at surface. As we reduce scale, data and maps can be generated
offshore and on land from seismic surveys.
Anticline Salt Dome
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Seismic uses a sound source (often a vibroseis unit or an air gun) to bounce acoustic waves off
underground bed boundaries and measure the time it takes for it to travel the round trip utilizing
geophones (microphones) placed on the surface to determine the location of structure which could
generate a trap.
Potential reservoirs can be further investigated by drilling actual wells and taking physical samples of
the fluids or the rock in which it is store. In addition, exploration logging will be done, Often times in
these instances multiple logging runs with maximum data recovery are likely to be attempted to fully
evaluate the reservoir, including rock and fluid sampling. Drill Stem Testing (DST) utilizes packers
and downhole control valves and pressure transducers to allow a temporary completion of the well to
determine its production capabilities. Exploration software allows reservoir models to be created to
predict how a reservoir will produce.
In development fields, reduced logging programs will probably be implemented to define reservoir
margins and changes within the reservoir, possibly using some form of log correlation technique to
further reduce the costs of data acquisition. Geologic maps are generated from the various forms of
data collected on potential reservoirs. These range from structural contour maps in which lines of
equal elevation are shown (similar to topographic except sub-surface or sub-sea) to isopach maps
which show the thickness of a specific formation throughout a field. Cross-sectional maps can be
generated using well logs from the wells within a field or from seismic data which has been calibrated
to show actual depth of formations.
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Reservoirs
Success for the Oil Company depends on finding hydrocarbons that can be economically produced.
Whether or not the well is economically viable will depend on „Oil in Place‟
A.t. .(1 S w )
OIP
0
Area (A), Thickness (t) & Depth: measurement of area & thickness yield reservoir volume.
Formation depth may have implications for the type of hydrocarbons we expect to find.
Porosity (Φ): this is a measure of the volume of void space in a sample of rock expressed as a
percentage of the total volume of the sample. Pore space is a function of how the original grains were
transported, packed, sorted, compacted and cemented. Using this property together with reservoir
volume information will yield an estimate of reservoir fluid volume. The porosity can be impacted by a
number of things which occur during diagenesis The higher the compaction (higher overburden
normally goes with deeper depth) the lower the porosity. The shape of the sediments refers to
whether they are spherical or more angular. The more spherical the grain typically the higher the
porosity. Sorting refers to how similar are the grain sizes. The better the sorting (more similar),
typically the higher the porosity. Packing refers to how the grains are stacked on each other. Cubic
packing typically yields the highest porosity 47%. Rhombohedral packing yields porosities around
26%. This is based on perfect spherical well sorted grains. Finally cementation effects the porosity.
The more cement in between the grains, the less pore space is available. The porosity is relatively
independent of the grain size.
Cubic Packing Rhombohedral Packing
Pores which are connected and allow the flow of fluids represent effective porosity. It should be noted
that our density and neutron tools measure total porosity which includes both the connected and
isolated porosity. Because of the physics involved, our acoustic tools tend to measure a minimum
porosity (the fastest travel path for the acoustic signal). A difference between total porosity and
minimum porosity would tend to indicate secondary porosity present in the formation. Often times,
secondary porosity is isolated but this can vary by formation.
5/26/2011 19
Water Saturation (Sw): using this together with reservoir fluid volume will help us to identify how
much of the fluid in the reservoir is water and lead us to an estimate of probable hydrocarbon content
in the reservoir. Considering the environment in which sediments are deposited (lakes, seas etc), you
might expect there to be some amount of water present regardless of the presence of hydrocarbons.
Not only is this the case, but it is generally not possible to displace all of the water, a percentage of
which remains adhered to the rock matrix (irreducible water saturation) in water-wet reservoirs.
Practical estimation of Sw is made possible by using wireline logging methods. Water Saturation is
commonly determined using Archie‟s Equation which contains some parameters (a, m, & n) which
can change depending on the lithology and properties of the reservoir.
n axRw
Sw m
xRt
Permeability: is a measure of the ease with which fluids can flow through the rock. It is described by
Darcy‟s Law
P Q. .L
(Steady-state, linear flow)
.A
Porosity alone doesn‟t guarantee that we can produce fluids; we need effective porosity so that fluids
can flow through the formation towards the borehole and ultimately be produced at surface.
Interestingly, and as you might expect, rock may have quite different permeability in one direction
compared to another. The reason for this is simply that stresses within the rock cause distortion of the
rock structure and alignment of mineral crystals, void spaces and channels. Reservoir fluids may be
water or some combination of water, gas and oil. Each fluid tends to segregate on the basis of
density, so we expect to find water deepest in the formation, oil next and gas shallowest in the
formation. Segregation tends not to be abrupt however and at each interface there is a transition zone
where one fluid blends into another. Fluid movement is complicated and a function of capillary
pressure. If a single fluid is present in the pore space, then we use the absolute permeability
measurement. Since we generally deal with mixtures of fluids (multiple-phases) fluid movement is
dictated by the relative ease of movement of each fluid component and is called effective
permeability. The relative permeability is the ratio of the effective perm to the absolute perm and
varies with the percentage of that fluid contained in the pore space.
5/26/2011 20
Formation volume factor (β0): this factor converts hydrocarbon volume at reservoir conditions to
volume at standard conditions of temperature & pressure (60 degF @ 1Atm).
Pressure: pressure at any point in the borehole is a function of depth, since buried formations are
subject to overburden from formations above (gradient ~1 psi/ft for fluid filled rock, 0.43psi/ft for
water). As you might also suspect; the action of drilling through a formation disturbs the existing
stress pattern and the newly drilled borehole may distort or collapse due to stresses which are no
longer held in equilibrium.
Hydrostatic pressure (psi) = 0.05195 x Mud wt (#/gal) x TVD (ft)
Sometimes because of the structure of a formation it may exhibit a formation pressure higher than
would be normally expected based on its depth. This can be the cause of a sudden kick while drilling
a well or even a blowout.
Temperature: temperature is a function of depth; deep formations tend to be hotter, simply because
there is a thermal gradient as we move closer towards the center of the earth (~1.5degF/100ft).
Hydrocarbon type is also a function of temperature; long periods of exposure at high temperatures
tend to alter the chemical composition of hydrocarbons (petroleum window)
Reservoir - Drives: a reservoir may produce hydrocarbons under its own natural drive mechanism;
water or gas. Water drive is the most efficient, but even then it is generally the case that 50% of the
original hydrocarbon is left in place as residual hydrocarbon. A gas drive can result from gas
dissolved in the hydrocarbon (solution drive) or may be in the form of a pressurized gas cap above
the water layer. Some drives are a combination of both mechanisms. Gravity drive is also possible,
resulting from the difference in specific gravity of the layered reservoir fluids. In some cases natural
drive mechanisms are not sufficient to produce hydrocarbons and some other artificial lift technology
is required.
References
Images, Online Earth Science Databank – American Geological Institute
Practical Petroleum Geology – Petroleum Extension Service
Fundamentals of Petroleum – Petroleum Extension Service
Oil Well Drilling – Technomedia Series (CD set)
„Crude‟ – History Channel documentary film
„A Crude Awakening‟ – Lava Productions documentary film
The Party‟s over – New Society Publishers; Richard Heinberg
Images Online - USGS
5/26/2011 21
Drilling
From the Field Professionals point of view, it‟s useful to have a general idea of what types of drilling
rigs are used, what purpose the various components of the rig serve and how they might affect
logging operations.
History - Edwin L Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in the US in an area outside of Titusville
Pennsylvania called Oil Creek. Oil continuously seeped into the creek but not in commercial
quantities. James Townsend hired Drake to drill to the source of the oil which he and Uncle Billy
Smith found at a depth of 69 feet. It yielded around 10 barrels per day which was about a forty-fold
increase over the total daily production in Titusville.
You can read more about the history of oil at: http://www.priweb.org/ed/pgws/index.html
To learn about drilling rigs, complete the 10 chapters of Technomedia‟s Oil Well Drilling series
available through your DVD or through I-Learn. On I-Learn, do a search utilizing the following script.
5/26/2011 22
Drilling Mud
From the Field Professionals point of view, it‟s useful to have a general idea of what types of drilling
mud are used, what purpose mud serves and why and how mud affects logging operations.
Most well bores are drilled with liquids; in some parts of the world wells are also drilled with foam or
air. Liquid muds are either Water-based (WBM) or Oil-based (OBM). Early rotary drilled wells were
drilled with „simple, non-engineered‟ water based muds; these were later refined and improved to aid
faster drilling and formation containment, in deep, hot wells and „difficult‟ formations. More recently
other fluids, such as Oil-based and Synthetic (Oil) based muds have been developed to meet specific
drilling requirements. ‘Difficult’ in this case means formations that have a tendency to swell, cave-in,
‘dissolve’ or collapse, as a result of the interaction between the mud and formation, e.g. Shales and
Salt formations.
Muds are designed to exhibit certain properties; these will largely depend on the types of formation to
be drilled. A mud engineer spends much of his time monitoring and modifying mud properties in order
to prevent:
 Formation fluids from coming to the surface (kick or blowout).
 hole collapse
 Formation permeability damage.
The mud system is dynamic; although drilling starts with a mud program based on previous
experience of the area to be drilled, the program will be changed depending on the specific properties
of the formations encountered. Drilling through successive formations; solids (rock) and fluids will be
mixed into the mud, changing its volume, and its chemical and mechanical properties. The mud
engineer will monitor these properties and modify them by adding appropriate solid or liquid additives
to the system. Different sections of the hole may, in some instances require a complete mud change
out, depending on the type of formation to be drilled and problem formations that are encountered
during drilling.
Mud Additives
Water and Oil-based, muds are a mixture of various solids and liquids; together they impart
mechanical properties such as density (weight) and viscosity.
Mud weight is particularly important, because it ensures that the hydrostatic pressure in the hole is
sufficient to prevent formation fluids from escaping from the formation and coming to surface, Mud
weight is increased by adding a heavy mineral such as Barite. There‟s a limit however, we need to
avoid increasing mud weight to the point where the total pressure (hydrostatic + friction pressure) in
the borehole (expressed by equivalent circulating density) exceeds the mechanical strength of the
formation, causing it to be fractured.
Viscosity is another important mechanical property, cuttings produced by the drill bit need to be
carried away to the surface; viscosity is increased by the addition of Bentonite, it can also be
reduced by using thinners like lignosulfonate.
Viscosity (actually „plastic viscosity‟), Yield point and Gel strength are all mud „mechanical‟ properties
and are closely monitored by the mud engineer. Viscosity is the slope of a graph of shear rate (X-
axis) versus shear stress (Y-axis). Readings are taken using a Fann viscometer, at various shear
rates. Plastic viscosity is then deduced from the resulting gradient. Extrapolating the line back to „0‟
shear rate provides a value of yield point. Gel strength is determined by comparing peak shear stress
at the same shear rate after waiting a specified length of time. These parameters are optimized by the
mud engineer, using various chemical additives in order to hold mud solids in suspension and carry
cuttings to the surface. (Refer: Bingham – plastic model).
Chemical properties; for example pH and Chlorides can be modified to stabilize Clays and minimize
permeability damage in productive formations. Salt formations will probably be drilled with salt-
5/26/2011 23
saturated WBM or with OBM, to avoid massive washouts. Mud pH properties will be designed to
stabilize formations that contain Clays and prevent sloughing (caving) and swelling; the addition of
caustic soda is used to alter pH properties (mud systems are generally alkaline).
Since mud is a mixture of solids and liquids, and borehole pressure is generally higher than formation
pressure (over-balanced), there is a tendency for the liquid phase (mud filtrate) to be driven into the
formation by this pressure differential, displacing any formation fluids away from the borehole. As this
happens mud solids are deposited on the borehole wall forming a mud cake. Eventually sufficient
mud cake will be deposited to prevent further loss of mud fluids; this will usually be of the order of a
few tenths of an inch at most, if the mud is correctly designed. In some „troublesome‟ zones, special
„lost circulation‟ material is used to control loss of mud filtrate or „whole‟ mud.
Some wells are drilled with borehole pressure slightly less than formation pressure (under-
balanced), under these conditions drilling rates can be much higher and the cost of drilling the well
reduced. Formation damage from mud filtrate invasion, and differential sticking of the drill pipe is
largely eliminated, however there is always the possibility of losing control of the well. Low weight
conventional muds, 2-phase foams and pure gas are all potential under-balanced drilling (UBD)
fluids.
Note: Oil-based muds are widely used for drilling deviated holes and are less prone to ‘react’ with
certain formations than water-based mud, however they are generally more expensive to use than
conventional water-based muds, and may raise environmental issues, depending on the base oil
used.
Muds & Logging

From a logging perspective the drilling mud will have bearing on the types of tools that can be run.
Water-based muds are electrically conductive, whereas oil-based muds, foams and gases are non-
conductive. Some of our tools, notably the Dual-Laterolog, Micro-Spherically focused log and
Spontaneous Potential, Rely on the electrical conductivity of the mud and can‟t be run in non-
conductive muds. Density tools are affected by the presence of mud chemicals, particularly Barite.
Air-drilled holes pose a problem for certain types of Neutron tool.
Logging tools generally measure properties close to the borehole; these properties are affected by
formation solids (rock) and formation fluids, mud filtrate mud cake and ‘whole’ mud. In order to
account for, and in some cases, correct for these effects, we need to acquire some basic mud
information:
 Type of mud
 Weight (lb/gal)
 pH
 Chlorides content (ppm)
 Fluid loss (cc)
 Mud filtrate resistivity, Rmf (Ωm)
 Whole mud resistivity, Rm (Ωm)
 Mud cake resistivity, Rmc (Ωm)
5/26/2011 24
Some of this data we can obtain from the mud engineer or drilling record,
some we measure from a mud sample (highlighted). The sample needs to
be representative of the mud in the borehole and is usually taken from a flow
line. The mud is pressed under 100psi for 30 minutes in order to separate it
into cake and filtrate before making the measurement, (which includes fluid
loss).
For oil-based muds there will be no entry for resistivity, since these muds are
not conductive when subjected to the low voltages associated with the
standard mud meter.
Solids are largely non-conductive, so mud resistivities will follow:
Rmc Rm Rmf
Note: resistivities of salt solutions generally drop as temperature is

increased, so mud resistivities have to be stated together with the
temperature of the sample at the time of measurement, In order to obtain
equivalent readings at a different temperature we need to make correction using Arp’s Equation:
T2 6.77
R1 R2
T1 6.77
Note: OBMs may have a significant amount of water present and invert oil-based muds actually have
more water than oil, but the water, which is most likely salt saturated, is present in the form of isolated
globules, where the continuous phase is oil, so they are non-conductive.
How well the mud system is designed to match the formations being drilled and how well the hole is
conditioned (circulated and tripped) prior to logging will greatly influence how easy it is for the
logging tools to reach the bottom of the well. Washouts, cave-ins, mud balling, formation swelling,
differential sticking are a function of mud properties and drilling procedures.
In some cases, faced with highly deviated or horizontal wells, where gravity offers little or no
assistance getting to total depth (TD), and no matter how good the condition of the hole, another
method of tool conveyance is required. Conventional wireline limits in those cases is around ~ 65
degrees or so from vertical, and is probably more successful in holes drilled with oil-based mud,
which appear to offer a reduced coefficient of friction and may produce and closer gage hole, with
fewer washouts.
References
Oil Well Drilling – Technomedia Series (CD set)
5/26/2011 25
Chapter 2 – Wireline Measurements
Natural Gamma Ray
The Gamma Ray tool is the basic component of many open and cased-hole services; it is designed to
measure naturally occurring radiation present in downhole formations.
Origin of Natural Gamma Rays

Gamma rays originate from three sources in nature. These are the radioactive elements of the
Potassium group, Uranium group, and the Thorium group. Uranium 235, Uranium 238 and Thorium
232 all decay, via long chains of daughter products, to stable lead isotopes. An isotope of Potassium,
40, decays to Argon and emits a gamma ray. It should be noted that each type of decay is
characterized by a gamma ray of a specific energy. This is an important concept since it is used as
the basis for analysis of data from the natural gamma spectroscopy tools.
On „average‟, shale contains 6 ppm uranium, 12 ppm thorium and 2% potassium. Since the various
gamma ray sources produce different numbers and energies of gamma rays, it is more informative to
consider this mix of radioactive materials on a common basis by referring to potassium equivalents
(the amount of potassium that would produce the same number of gamma rays per unit of time).
Reduced to a common denominator, the average shale contains uranium equivalent to 4.3%
potassium, thorium equivalent to 3.5% potassium, and 2% potassium. This "average** shale is a rare
find. Shale is a mixture of clay minerals, sand, silts and other extraneous materials; thus, there can be
no „standard‟ gamma ray activity for shale. Indeed, the main clay minerals vary enormously in their
natural radioactivity. Kaolinite has almost no potassium whereas Illite contains between 4% and 8%
potassium. Montmorillonite contains less than 1% potassium. Natural radioactivity may also be due to
the presence of dissolved potassium or other salts in the water contained in the pores of the shale.
Tool Physics
Traditionally, two types of gamma ray detectors have been used in the logging industry: Geiger-
Mueller and scintillation detectors. Today most gamma ray tools use scintillation detectors
containing a Sodium Iodide crystal; newer and more efficient crystal materials are constantly being
discovered but the principles of operation are the same.
When a gamma ray strikes the crystal, a single photon of light is emitted. This tiny flash of light then
strikes a photocathode (probably made from Cesium-Antimony or Silver-Magnesium). Each photon
hitting the photocathode releases an avalanche of electrons, these, in turn, are accelerated by an
electric field to strike another electrode producing an even bigger electron „shower‟. This process is
repeated through a number of stages until a small voltage pulse is detected.
The detected pulse is amplified, shaped

and discriminated for noise before being
sent to a counter for transmission as a raw
gamma measurement of count rate.
Gamma ray Photo Multiplier Tube
5/26/2011 26
As with all logging tools; the physics of the measurement, the environment and tool design, place
limits on the ability of a tool to resolve thin beds (vertical resolution) and to survey deep into the
undisturbed formation (depth of investigation).
Gamma ray logs and most other logs require

standardization, so they can be compared
within and across companies. A calibration
standard for the Gamma ray was devised by
the American Petroleum Institute (API) and is
represented by a test pit at the University of
Houston. This contains specially „doped‟
artificial shale surrounded by non-radioactive
zones, set behind a specific size of casing. One
th
Gamma API unit is defined as 1/200 the
difference between the „hot‟ and „cold‟ zones.
In practice a reference tool is calibrated at the

Houston pit and the response of this tool
„transferred‟ to field locations through the use of a
calibration blanket impregnated with Thorium 232.
Gamma ray measurement, and for that matter any
other measurement involving the decay of
radioactive materials, is inherently statistical in
nature and logging speed adversely affects log
quality. In order to collect sufficient gamma rays at
any section or interval of the borehole it is
necessary to maintain logging speed within
specification. Equally, when comparing Gamma
ray measurements over the same section don‟t
expect a perfect match or repeat! Gamma tools
are usually logged at 30-45 fpm.
Operational Issues
Gamma ray logs are subject to a number of perturbing effects including:
 Tool position in the hole (centered or eccentered)
 Hole size
 Mud weight
 Casing size and weight
 Cement thickness
Most of the above is not surprising since gamma rays are attenuated to some extent by materials
placed between the detector and the formation. It is possible to run a Gamma tool in cased hole and
attenuation with multiple string of cemented casing can make the response difficult to interpret.
Similarly, in open-hole the position of the Gamma tool will depend on the position of other tools in the
toolstring, which could be intentionally centered or eccentered.
Since there are innumerable combinations of hole size, mud weight and tool position, logging service
companies publish charts to correct their gamma ray logs back to a „standard‟ set of conditions.
5/26/2011 27
Use of the GR
 The Gamma tool is widely used as a depth correlation device. It is run with many services
these days, even with perforating and other cased-hole, explosive services, in order to
correlate with original open-hole logs. It provides correlation for sidewall cores in oil-based
mud, where an SP cannot be run.
 Since radioactive isotopes are often associated with the clay minerals in shales, it is a
commonly accepted practice to use the relative gamma ray deflection as a shale volume
indicator. The simplest procedure is to scale the gamma ray linearly between its minimum
(clean) and maximum (shaly) values from 0 to 100% shale. The Gamma Ray Index is
defined as:
GRlog GRclean
GRshale GRclean
A number of studies have shown that this is not necessarily the best method and have
proposed other relationships; Steiber, Clavier etc.
 Gamma rays are recorded both in cased and open-hole, they are also incorporated in a tool
as a sub-assembly; for example in open and cased-hole telemetry sections (GTET, D4TG,
TTTC) or in cased hole correlation devices (GPLT, GPST).
Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma Ray

Since radioactive decay produces a unique gamma ray with a characteristic energy; just counting
how many gamma rays a formation produces can be taken a step further, by counting both the
number and energy of detected gamma rays. If the number of occurrences is plotted against the
energy, a spectrum can be produced that is characteristic of the formation logged. This spectrum
can be thought of as a mixture of the three individual spectra belonging to Uranium, Thorium and
Potassium. Some unique combination of these three radioactive „families‟ will have the same
spectrum as the observed one. The trick is to find that combination.
Two general techniques are in use for the interpretation of spectral natural gamma ray logs. One is
the use of the Uranium curve (or the ratios Uranium/Thorium, Uranium/Potassium, and
Thorium/Potassium) as an indicator of fractures. Another technique is to apply the Uranium, Thorium
and Potassium concentrations together with other log data to determine mineralogy and clay type.
The size of the gamma pulse exiting the photomultiplier is related directly to the energy level of the
gamma which struck the crystal. In order to accurately measure the spectrum, some method of
stabilization must be used to compensate for temperature effects on the photomultiplier. As the
temperature of the PMT changes, its resistance changes and this impacts the size of the gamma
pulse. The CSNG uses a small embedded 0.05 µCi Am241 (americium) source to provide a known 60
Kev peak to adjust the spectrum coming from the PM tube. An Alpha-gamma coincidence technique
(Am241 emits an alpha particle and a 60 Kev gamma ray simultaneously) uses a separate CaF
detector (transparent to gamma rays) which detects the alpha particle and then relates any 60 Kev
gammas which arrive at the same time.
5/26/2011 28
Density
The density tool is used primarily as a porosity indicator; in conjunction with other log measurements
(neutron tool), it can help determine formation lithology and fluid type. Together with the sonic tool it
can be used in seismic data interpretation.
Tool Physics
Density measurements are made using a pad type tool, which extends from the sonde or mandrel
body to make contact with the borehole wall. The density pad contains two detectors and a cesium
(Ce137) gamma ray logging source. On the rear of the tool, behind the pad, is a caliper arm which
extends to measure borehole size. Other density tools, particularly those made for logging small
diameter holes, do not use a pad; the entire sonde body must be eccentered against the borehole
wall (slim-hole, hostile density tool for example).
The 1.5 Curie Cs137 gamma ray logging source emits a „collimated stream‟ of gamma rays with a
nominal energy level of 662Kev. The pad is machined from tungsten, which helps confine or shield the
stream so that gamma rays escape through a small window in the pad. Exiting the pad, gamma rays
pass through the mudcake and into the formation. There they lose energy and most are absorbed,
some are scattered back to the detectors and are counted. Dense formations absorb many gamma
rays; formations of lower density absorb fewer gamma rays, therefore high count rates at the detectors
indicate low density formations and low count rates at the detectors indicate high density formations.
Gamma rays can interact with matter in various ways, depending on the energy level of the incident gamma
ray:
Compton scattering; in this case the gamma ray interacts with one of an atom's electrons and is
scattered with less energy. This scenario is correct when the energy of the incoming gamma ray is
much greater than binding energy of the electron to its atom. Under these circumstances scattering
depends on the electron density, and not on the atomic number of the material. Compton scattering
is the interaction of importance for density measurement.
Photoelectric absorption, this is similar to Compton scattering, but the entire gamma ray is
absorbed and the electron is ejected from the atom. Photoelectric absorption is the interaction of
importance for lithology identification.
Pair production, in this case the gamma ray interacts with an atom to produce an electron and a
positron. This interaction is not utilized for logging.
Gamma rays are detected using a detector similar to the CSNG; they pass through a scintillation
crystal (sodium Iodide), creating a photon. The photon strikes a photo cathode ejecting an electron.
The electron effect is multiplied by using a series of dynodes, so that the effect can be measured
and interpreted as a gamma ray event. The size of the pulse is related to the energy of the gamma
ray striking the crystal. A small Cs 137 stabilizer source is placed on the end of each detector to
provide a known 662 Kev gamma peak to correct for temperature effects. These sources are
embedded on the detectors and remain in the pad at all times.
5/26/2011 29
In practice gamma rays are counted, their energy
level is measured and a spectrum constructed for
both near and far detectors. Certain energy sections
or windows of the spectrum are used to compute
formation bulk density. The lower energy windows
(<100Kev) indicate formation lithology. Other
windows, around 662kev serve to locate the
spectrum as it drifts under the influence of downhole
temperature changes.
Note: in practice count rate is closely related to the electron density of the bulk material, through the
following polynomial
2 3
Ln C a1 a2 e a3 e a4 e a5 L a6 x 4 a 7 x 5 There is then a simple relationship
between electron density ( e ) and formation „bulk density‟ ( b )
b 1.0704 e 1.883
And between bulk density to formation porosity:

matrix bulk
D
matrix fluid
Note: in order to calculate density porosity we are forced to choose matrix density and fluid density
parameters. As a result our computed porosity will only be correct when we log through formations
where these parameters are applicable. An interesting example is where we log through a gas zone;
the fluid parameter is normally chosen as 1gm/cc (water). In this case the density porosity will tend to
read too high.
Note: basic relationships for the density (and sonic) tools are related to what is known as the ‘unit
volume’ linear response. It’s essentially a weighted average; which models the computation of
porosity from basic tool response.
Vmatrix. matrix V fluid . fluid Vbulk . bulk
Vmatrix V fluid Vbulk .

V fluid
Vbulk
Vbulk V fluid . matrix V fluid . fluid Vbulk . bulk
Vbulk V fluid . matrix V fluid . fluid Vbulk . bulk
1 . matrix . fluid bulk
matrix bulk matrix fluid
matrix bulk
matrix fluid
5/26/2011 30
Operational Issues
The depth of investigation of the density tool is quite shallow. Most of the density counts come
from a region very close to the borehole wall. This means that the density is subject to effects
from mudcake, rugosity, and invasion.
If the borehole wall is rugose (rough), the count rates will be affected by the borehole fluid as if it were
very light mudcake. The result is that rugosity can be seen on the log as an increase in density
correction, corrections greater than 0.25g/cc are considered excessive and the density measurement
is probably useless.
The density tool is influenced or „sees‟ a combination of the „bulk formation‟; comprising fluids and
solid rock and mudcake. Where mudcake density is low, compared to that of the formation, the tool
reads low and a positive correction is made. Conversely, when the mudcake density is high
compared to the density of the formation, the tool reads high and a negative correction is made. The
latter case is evident when logging in heavy muds, which are often loaded with BARITE weighting
material.
Note: Density correction is made in real-time and reported as ‘delta-rho’ or a combination of
‘correction minus’ (corm) and ‘correction positive’ (corp).
Pad/formation contact is critical to obtaining high quality density measurements. Tool position is
aided by the force of the caliper arm behind the pad.
SDL – pad contact and mud cake effects

Note: Logging down, it is possible to get density data, but often the pad tends to rotate, and
readings vary between mud density and formation density, depending on pad orientation.
5/26/2011 31
Density logs require
standardization, so they can be
compared within and across
companies. The shop calibration
standard for the Density requires
measuring the density of two blocks
of known density. The blocks
chosen are Aluminum and
magnesium; which cover the range
of measurement likely to be found
in the field. The photoelectric
measurement is also derived from
these blocks. Field checks are
achieved through a simple
background check.
SDL – shop calibration blocks

Density measurement, which is dependent on radio-active decay, is inherently statistical and logging
speed adversely affects log quality. In order to collect sufficient gamma rays at any section or interval
of the borehole it is necessary to maintain logging speed within specification. Equally, when
comparing density measurements over the same section don‟t expect perfect repeatability! Density
tools can be logged up to 60 fpm.
Uses of the Density

 Porosity determination
 Lithology determination
 Shale indication, and in some instances, quantitative analysis
 Gas indication and saturation calculations in combination with other tools.
 The density tool cannot be run in cased hole. This is hardly surprising; the depth of
investigation is around 1.5” for the SDLT bulk density measurement – in practice the depth of
investigation is insufficient to reach the formation behind casing and cement! This also
explains why the influence of BARITE is so marked on the PE measurement. With a depth of
investigation around ½”, the influence of the BARITE loaded mudcake is substantial.
5/26/2011 32
Neutron (TTP Module)
The Neutron tool is used as a porosity indicator; It also helps determine formation lithology and fluid
type, in conjunction with other log measurements, particularly the density tool.
Tool Physics
Neutrons have approximately the same mass as a proton, but no electrical charge. Their small size and
electrical neutrality enable them to pass through matter easily. Neutrons can be produced using
chemical and pulsed sources. Chemical neutron sources use a mixture of americium/beryllium and emit a
constant stream of neutrons (and gamma rays). Pulsed sources, which are relatively harmless when
not energized, contain an electron accelerator and a target. When activated, the accelerator sends a
short pulse of electrons into the target, which then emits a burst of neutrons. Pulsed neutron sources
are used extensively in cased-hole logging for TMDL and RMT logging. They produce neutrons of
much higher energy level (~14MeV).
The standard dual-spaced neutron tools (DSNT) use chemical sources and emit neutrons in all directions
(Omni-directional), unlike the collimated gamma ray source in the density tool.
When a neutron leaves the source, it has substantially all its initial energy ~4.6MeV. These are called
fast neutrons; they impact atomic nuclei in the borehole and formation, and lose energy with each
collision.
There are three principle interactions to consider for neutrons in matter; elastic scattering, inelastic
scattering and capture. Conventional dual-spacing neutron tools are affected primarily by elastic
scattering and to some extent by capture (absorption).
Element Slowing down cross-section Collisions to reach 0.025eV

Hydrogen 20 18
Nitrogen 10 130
Chlorine 10 329
Iron 11 514
Element Thermal Neutron capture cross-section

Boron 759
Chlorine 33
cadmium 7000
Elastic scattering is similar to billiards; a neutron strikes an atomic nucleus and the momentum of
the neutron is split between the nucleus and the neutron. The neutron slows down every time it hits a
nucleus. The amount of energy lost depends on the mass of the target nucleus and the angle
between the nucleus and neutron velocities after the collision. When the neutrons reach an energy of
~0.025eV; such neutrons are called thermal neutrons, these are the neutrons we detect in order to
deduce formation porosity.
The greatest amount of energy loss occurs when the struck nucleus has a mass similar to that of the
incoming neutron. Hydrogen meets this requirement perfectly, and causes rapid energy loss to the
incident neutron. Other elements also degrade or moderate neutron energy, but hydrogen is of
primary importance. Tool design is such that the number of thermal neutrons arriving at a detector
will decrease dramatically with an increase in the formation's hydrogen content.
5/26/2011 33
Distribution of Thermal Neutrons as a Function of
Porosity
Abundance of Thermal Neutrons
Short Spaced
Long Spaced
INTERMEDIATE
HIGH ZERO
Distance from Source
Distribution of Thermal Neutrons as a Function of

Lithology
Abundance of Thermal Neutrons
Short Spaced Long Spaced
SANDSTONE
DOLOMITE
LIMESTONE
Distance from Source
Hydrogen is present in water and hydrocarbon fluids (oil and gas), and also in some minerals,
particularly shales. In clean formations most of the hydrogen is located in fluids in the pore network,
therefore measuring „hydrogen ion density‟ enables us to calculate formation porosity.
Note: hydrogen in shales is present as OH groups in the shale structure and not as fluids in pore
space.
The presence of gas is of particular interest; hydrogen is present in gas, but the hydrogen ion density
is low compared to that of water or oil, therefore gas filled porosity causes to tool to under report true
formation porosity
Neutron measurements are made using a mandrel style tool (DSNT), which is pushed against the
borehole wall using a bowspring. The tool contains two detectors and an americium/Beryllium
(Am241Be) neutron source. Open-hole neutron tools used for logging air drilled holes use a pad
(DSEN).
5/26/2011 34
Early single detector tools were severely affected by washouts and rugosity. With Dual detector
tools, porosity is a function of the ratio of counts from short and long-spaced detectors (Rc =
SS/LS), which compensates for these borehole effects. Neutrons are detected using a He3 gas
ionization detector.
2 3
a0 a1 Rc a 2 Rc a3 Rc ... a n LR n c
Note: DSEN or epithermal neutron tools do not detect thermal neutrons; they are designed to detect
higher energy neutrons. The problem with air drilled hole is that few neutrons are thermalized due
to the lack of borehole mud, and few counts are available at the detectors to make a valid porosity
computation.
Operational Issues
The depth of investigation of the neutron tool is quite shallow. Most of the neutron counts come
from a region very close to the borehole wall. This means that porosity is subject to effects from
mudcake, rugosity, and invasion.
If the borehole wall is rough or washed out, porosity will tend to read high, as if the tool was „seeing‟ high
porosity. Formation contact is critical to obtaining high quality porosity measurements. Tool position
is aided by the force of the neutron bowspring decentralizer.
Neutron logs require
standardization, so they
can be compared within
and across companies.
The shop calibration
standard for the Neutron
requires measuring the
Ratio of a horizontal
water tank (seen at the
left). The tank is
referenced to a standard
tool, which itself is
referenced to calibration
pits at the university of
Houston. Field checks
are achieved with a
combination of logging
and calibration sources
held in position by a field
„jig‟ or snow block. (seen
on the next page)
The neutron measurement, which is dependent on radio-active decay, is inherently statistical and
logging speed adversely affects log quality. In order to collect sufficient neutrons at any section or
interval of the borehole it is necessary to maintain logging speed within specification. Equally, when
comparing neutron measurements over the same section don‟t expect perfect repeatability! Neutron
tools can be logged up to 60 fpm.
5/26/2011 35
Snow Block Calibrator for DSN
Uses of the Neutron

 Porosity determination
 Lithology determination
 Shale indication, and in some instances, quantitative analysis
 Gas indication and saturation calculations in combination with other tools.
 Open to cased hole log correlation
 The neutron tool can be logged in cased hole, although corrections are needed for the
presence of casing strings and cement annuli, which tend to reduce or shield the detectors
5/26/2011 36
Spontaneous Potential
The spontaneous potential (SP) was one of the first logging measurements ever made. It was
accidentally discovered as a DC potential that affected old electric logs. Its usefulness was quickly
realized and it has remained one of the few well log measurements to have been in continuous use
for over fifty years.
Source of the SP
The Spontaneous Potential or SP is a naturally occurring potential that arises from drilling into a
formation using drilling mud with a different salinity to the formation water.
If two salt solutions of different concentrations are separated by a permeable membrane, ions from
the more concentrated solution will tend to migrate into the less concentrated solution. Sodium and
Chloride ions do not migrate at the same speed, Chloride ions are lighter and faster (more mobile)
than Sodium ions, and the net result is that a potential is set up across the junction, known as a
liquid junction potential.
SP Curve
Liquid Junction Impermeable

Shale
BOREHOLE
Permeable
Current Flow Sandstone
High Low
Concentration Concentration Impermeable
Shale
Chlorine (Cl-)
Sodium (Na+)
In most boreholes, mud filtrate is the weaker salt solution and formation water the more concentrated
salt solution. If mud filtrate can be forced into the formation, under hydrostatic pressure, it comes into
contact with formation water, and a liquid junction potential is created.
Note: In clean, permeable formations the influx of mud filtrate is occurs much more readily than in
shaly, less permeable formations, so potential effects are more pronounced where permeability is
high.
Under such conditions a negative potential (resulting from the accumulation of chloride ions) develops
opposite the permeable sand bed. The magnitude of the potential is related to the contrast in salinity
between the mud filtrate and the formation water, the bigger the contrast, the bigger the potential
created.
5/26/2011 37
Another ionic effect in the well is a result of the mo-
lecular structure of clays. Clay surfaces have
„exchange sites‟ where sodium (cat) ions are
attracted. (This same surface effect also gives rise
to the conductivity of shaly sands). As a result,
shales more readily allow the passage of Sodium
cations than Chloride anions (which they repel);
effectively acting as an ionic sieve or filter. Sodium
ions manage to pass through the shale bed to the
less saline mud column, resulting in a net positive
charge opposite impermeable shale zones, known
as a membrane potential. Spontaneous Potential
is the sum of the liquid junction and membrane
potentials, and is also termed the electro-chemical
component of the SP.
When mud filtrate salinity is lower than formation or connate water salinity the SP deflects to the left
on the log. This is called a normal SP. When the salinities are reversed (salty mud and fresh
formation waters), the SP deflects to the right; this is called a reverse SP. There will normally be no
SP deflection when the salinities of the formation water and the mud filtrate are the same.
Note: It is common to find fresh water in shallow sands and more saline water as depth increases.
Recording the SP
An SP can be recorded by suspending an electrode in the borehole and measuring the voltage
difference between the electrode and a ground electrode (usually called a „fish‟) that makes electrical
contact with the earth at the surface. SP electrodes (usually
nothing more than a simple metallic band) are built into many
logging tools. They are often an integral part of Induction and
Laterolog tools, and are frequently used to correlate sidewall
core guns in water based (conductive) muds.
An SP cannot be recorded in air or oil-base muds, since
there is no conductive fluid in the borehole. Conductive mud
is essential for the generation of a spontaneous potential, it
is recorded in mV and is not calibrated.
Factors Affecting the SP

SP readings are usually accurate and easily measured.
However, there are circumstances where SP readings
require careful handling.
 Oil Base Muds & Air-Filled Boreholes; due to a
complete lack of an electrical path in the borehole,
no SP will be generated in wells where the hole is
filled with oil-based muds or air.
 Shale will reduce the measured SP. This effect
permits the shaliness to be estimated if a clean sand
of the same water salinity is available for
comparison.
5/26/2011 38
 Hydrocarbon saturation may reduce SP measurements, so only water-bearing sands should
be used for determining formation water resistivity from the SP.
 Unbalanced mud columns, with differential pressure into the formation, can cause "stream-
ing" potentials that increase the SP deflection, especially in depleted reservoirs. There is no
way to handle it quantitatively. This effect is called the electro-kinetic component of the SP.
 Potassium chloride muds affect the derivation of formation water resistivity from the SP.
 High Resistivity Formations; in hard formations, resistivities can be very high. These high
resistivities affect the distribution of the SP currents, and hence the shape of the SP curve on
the log.
 Bed thickness can affect the SP measurement dramatically. In thin beds, the SP does not
develop to its full deflection. Many SP corrections charts are available in the literature, some
more complex than others but It is virtually impossible to include on one chart all the possible
variables involved in making necessary corrections.
 SP drift (with temperature); this effect can be removed using software (baseline straightening),
but caution needs to be taken, determining shale and clean baselines from an uncorrected log.
Use of the SP
There are many uses for the SP:
 Permeability indicator, since it responds to the movement of fluids.
 Shale content, SP response can be used to estimate the shale content of a formation. To
do this we simply compare the response between a „clean‟ permeable sand and a 100%
shaly formation and scale all other log readings against this reference using:
SPlog SPclean
SPshale SPclean
 Calculation of Formation water resistivity

 Since shales and clays are generally finer-grained than sands, a change in SP suggests a
change in grain size. Thus, SP deflections can indicate depositional sequences, where
either sorting, grain size or cementation change with depth and produce characteristic SP
shapes. These shapes are referred to as bells, funnels, or cylinders.
Operational issues
 SP logs are subject to errors which can usually be detected in the field. For example, a poor
ground can cause the SP baseline to move. Placing the SP ground (fish) in a mud pit
whose fluid level is changing, or on the ocean floor where currents can drag it back and
forth, may cause shifts in the SP baseline.
 Cyclical or "saw tooth" SP profiles can indicate a magnetized cable winch drum or
intermittent SP circuit contact.
 At the rig-site; welding, cathodic protection, electrical motor operation etc. can all contribute
to SP „noise‟.
 Some tools carrying SP electrodes may have two dissimilar metals (steel and bronze, for
example) in close proximity. Since the two metals have different electrochemical potentials,
a small battery may inadvertently be created in the mud column. This effect, known as
bimetallism, can show itself as an extraneous potential added to the SP. It can sometimes
be cured by wrapping insulating tape over the offending metal parts of the sonde.
5/26/2011 39
Resistivity
The first logging device ever designed was to measure formation resistivity. It was a modification of a
method used to detect underground resistivity anomalies associated with geologic features or
concentrations of metallic ores. A voltage source sent a current through the ground between two
widely-spaced electrodes. The voltage drop between two other more closely-spaced electrodes was
used as a measure of the ground resistivity. By moving the whole electrode array across the
countryside, it was possible to "map" underground features.
Origins
Since those early days, a series of improvements have resulted in five main families of resistivity
tools. These are:
 Induction devices
 Laterolog devices
 Micro-resistivity devices
 Dielectric devices
Ohm's Law states that the current „I‟ which flows through a conductor is equal to the voltage „V‟ applied
divided by the material's resistance „R‟ Practical units of measurement are respectively the amp, the
volt and the ohm. In equation form:
V I .R
Of more interest in well logging is the resistivity, rather than the resistance, of a rock. Resistivity is the
specific resistance of a substance (i.e., the resistance of a specific amount of it). It is defined by the
voltage required to cause one amp to pass through a cube of face area one meter square. The unit
of resistivity is the ohm-meter.
V I L
A
Why the need to know the resistivity rather than the resistance? Because resistance is a function not
only of the resistivity, but also of the geometry of the body of material on which the measurement is
being made. The resistance of a wire stretching across the Pacific Ocean would be high, because of
its length, but the resistivity of the wire itself could be very low. The measurement that characterizes
the rock, as far as fluid content is concerned, is the resistivity and not the resistance.
Conductivity is the reciprocal of resistivity and is measured in "mhos." A substance with infinite
resistivity (empty space) has a conductivity of zero; a substance with low resistivity has high
-3
conductivity. The practical unit of conductivity is the "milli-mho" which is equal 10 mho.
Typical formation resistivities range from 0.5ohmm 1000ohmm. Soft formations (shaly sands) range
from 0.5ohmm to about 50ohmm. Hard formations (carbonates) range from 10ohmm to 1000ohmm.
Evaporates (salt, anhydrite) may exhibit resistivities of several thousand ohmm. Formation water will
range from 0.015ohmm (very salty brines) to several ohmm (fresh water). Sea water has a resistivity
of 0.35ohmm at 75°F.
Given an infinite isotropic homogeneous medium with a particular electrode array implanted in it, it is
possible to derive equations relating to voltage drop across various equipotential surfaces, and from
there to calculate the resistivity of the surrounding medium, this is nothing more than ohm‟s law
applied in three dimensions.
5/26/2011 40
This ideal derivation does not fit the real world for two reasons. First, a borehole is required in order to
introduce an electrode into the formation and, secondly, no formation is infinite and homogenous.
Thus a single current electrode system is too unfocused to be of practical use; for these reasons
electric logging devices evolved using four electrodes. Two electrodes transmit and receive currents
from the formation. Two additional electrodes measure voltage differences in the borehole. These old
electric devices saw great use for many years, but were plagued with effects from both the borehole
and adjacent beds. The only survivor from the early electric logging devices is the Microlog.
Although the original electric logging principles were sound, their practical embodiments left much to
be desired. Efforts to improve the measurement of formation resistivity have been busily pursued for
the last 70 years. As a result, three main branches of resistivity logging have evolved. They are:
 Focused electric logs

 Induction logs
 Microwave devices
Focused electric logs were a logical step up from the early unfocused electric logs. By addition of
focusing electrodes to the basic four electrode array the current could be „steered‟ in the right
direction. The modern descendant is the Laterolog that uses several focusing electrodes to direct
current into the formation and to eliminate many of the borehole effects present on electric logs.
Spherically-focused logs also rely on focusing electrodes.
Induction logs broke the tradition of using current and voltage electrodes by introducing a system of
focused coils to induce currents in the formation.
Microwave and radio frequency
devices have been built to measure
the dielectric constant of the forma-
tion. Strictly speaking they do not
measure formation resistivity,
however they are usually classified as
resistivity devices since the end use of
their measurements is the same as for
resistivity devices: determination of
formation fluid saturation.
Whatever the device used to measure
formation resistivity, there are
common elements that conspire to
confound our efforts. These are
effects from the borehole, from
neighboring beds (shoulder beds, and
mud filtrate invasion
Although modern resistivity measuring

devices represent considerable
advances over the original unfocused electric log, there is still plenty of room for improvement Thus
when using a resistivity log the analyst should always bear in mind that the device used to produce
the log is not perfect and the measurement displayed on the log is a composite of four items; the
resistivity of the undisturbed zone, which we are trying to measure, the resistivity of the borehole, the
adjacent beds and the invaded zone. Thus there is evident danger in assuming that the reading from
a resistivity log represents Rt Depending on the device used and the particular circumstances of the
well and the formations logged, the actual reading may be greater or less.
5/26/2011 41
Laterolog
In many wells, the drilling fluid is a water-based mud which conducts electricity. Under these circumstances
we can utilize a tool such as the Dual-Laterolog (DLL), which requires a conductive path from the tool to
the formation. In this case the measurement is directly a measurement of resistivity.
Measurement Technique
One of the difficulties in passing a current from the tool to the formation, inside a borehole is; the current
has to be constrained to a particular geometry, so that ohms law can be correctly applied to solve for
resistivity.
Early tool designs were „unfocussed‟,
the current path was not restricted in any
way, basically current took the path of
least resistance, often avoiding the higher
resistivity formations (those bearing
hydrocarbons), and frequently bypassing
formations altogether, traveling directly
through the borehole.
The idea of using a „guard‟ electrode to
remove undesirable borehole effects from
electrical logs was proposed in the
1920's. However, the idea was not put
into practice until the 1950's, when Doll
developed the first Laterolog tool.
DLL – Unconstrained or unfocussed current flow
Subsequently, Laterologs evolved in a number of

ways. The Laterolog 7, which used small guard
electrodes, was later joined by the Laterolog 3,
which used
longer guard electrodes. Both operated on the
same principle: a constant survey current;
focused into the formation by guard currents from
the guard electrodes. By monitoring the voltage
required to maintain a fixed survey current, the
formation resistivity can be measured.
Today, the most commonly used Laterolog tool is

the Dual Laterolog (DLL). It is considered to be a
hybrid tool, which uses a constant power (product
of current and voltage). The design of this tool
solves many problems associated with earlier
Laterologs. Currently, the DLL is the standard
resistivity tool for salt mud environments. Note:
guard electrodes are also called focusing or
bucking electrodes. DLL – Guarded or focused current flow
5/26/2011 42
Tool Physics
The DLL is essentially a symmetrical electrode array, mounted on an insulated mandrel. Both survey
current and focusing current electrodes are mounted on the same mandrel. The practical
implementation of the DLL actually comprises two „mandrel‟ sections; the Laterolog mandrel and a
Micro-Spherically Focused Log (MSFL) mandrel. The MSFL electrode assembly is pad mounted
and opened when the tool reaches the bottom of the
well, so the pad follows the contour of the hole.
The DLL makes two measurements; one at a shallow
depth of investigation and one at a deeper depth of
investigation. Both measurements are made at the
same time, using different frequencies, with the
same electrode array, in a slightly different
configuration.
The deep measurement uses longer guard electrodes
and a lower frequency, the shallow measurement;
shorter electrodes at a higher frequency. Current is
returned far from the mandrel in the case of the deep
(to an electrode on the bridle) and to the mandrel
itself for the shallow.
The MSFL makes a single, very shallow resistivity

measurement, close to the borehole wall (in the flushed
zone). The electrode array in this case is a series of
concentric rings, mounted on a soft rubber or hard plastic
pad. A caliper measurement is also recorded.
In general terms a current leaves the survey electrode and
travels through the mud to the formation. Guard electrodes
maintain the survey current flux in a radial pattern around
the tool. As the current progresses into the formation the
current geometry gradually loses shape and the well
defined disk and begins to distort as it makes its way back
towards the current return electrode. In order to make a
resistivity measurement, we need to know the current flow
through the disk and the voltage drop across the inner and
outer edges of the disk. Provided the disk geometry
maintains the same known shape, we can apply ohm‟s law
and solve for resistivity.
The DLL and MSFL measurements are dynamic (the MSFL survey and bucking current flow is similar
to the DFL of the HRI tool). As the environment through which the tool logs changes, the tool operating
parameters (voltages and currents) change, in an attempt to maintain the geometry of the current flux
around the tool.
Note: Unlike the HRI or the ACRt; the DLL and MSFL send current out from the tool through the
borehole mud, the flushed zone, the transition zone and the uninvaded zone. The DLL and MSFL
‘see’ these zones in series; a geometrical factor describes how each of these zones contributes to the
final measured resistivity.
5/26/2011 43
Operational Issues
Suited for:
 Salty mud; ideal operating conditions depend on Rmf/Rw contrast; see chart, generally when
Rmf/Rw < 2.5, and fresh water-based muds where Rmf Rw
 Will not work in Oil-based muds or Air-drilled holes
 Range of measurement (in optimum conditions) to very high resistivities (up to 40k ohmm).
 Should be run centralized but may be run centralized or stood-off.
Requires corrections:
 Borehole and mudcake corrections; since the MSFL is a pad contact device, it is sensitive to
mudcake thickness and mudcake resistivity. There are also borehole corrections for the LLD and
LLS, which are heavily dependant on hole size.
 Bed thickness corrections; when a Laterolog mandrel is in front of a bed which has different
conductivity than the beds above and below, the measure current tends to concentrate in the least
resistive path. If the shoulder beds have lower resistivities than the bed of interest, the measured
resistivity value will be too low. Conversely, if the shoulder beds have higher resistivities than the
zone of interest, the measured resistivity will be too high. This bed thickness effect is similar to that
seen with Induction tools.
 Invasion corrections; after making corrections for borehole and bed thickness a „butterfly chart‟
enables diameter of invasion to be estimated and a corrected value of Rt.
Uses of the Laterolog

 Determine resistivity of the uninvaded zone (Rt)
 Define bed boundaries
 Estimate diameter of invasion
 Indicate movable hydrocarbons
 Indicate permeable zones
 Correlate formations
 Perform mud resistivity measurements (Rm)
Micro-resistivity
MSFL tools are used to determine:
 Flushed zone resistivity, Rw
 Invasion corrections for deep resistivity devices.
 Hole diameter (caliper)
The electrodes of these pad-contact tools are embedded in an
insulating pad (rubber or PEEK) that is carried on a caliper arm
and forced against the borehole wall. In rugose and washed out
holes it may be difficult to obtain good data, also thick mudcake
may prevent the tool from measuring in the flushed zone.
Note: pad material (rubber or PEEK) and pad geometry (slim or
wide) will have significant bearing on electrode/formation contact
and durability. Durability becomes an issue when running ‘tool-
pusher’ logs.
MSFL tools are designed with „small‟ electrode arrays; therefore
depth of investigation is very shallow (barely beyond the
mudcake) and vertical resolution is very fine (thin laminated
beds of the order of a few inches thickness can be resolved).
5/26/2011 44
Induction
In many wells, the drilling fluid is a water-based mud which conducts electricity. However, some wells are
drilled with non-conductive fluids such as oil-base muds, oil emulsions, fresh water, or air. Under such
conditions it is impossible to obtain a satisfactory resistivity log except with an induction tool.
Induction tools make use of a transmitter coil, mounted in the tool
housing. An alternating current in the coil sets up an alternating
magnetic field, which circulates in the formation. The magnetic
field induces an alternating „eddy‟ current loop or „ground‟ loop in
the formation (the strength of this „eddy‟ current loop will depend
on formation conductivity) it will also create yet another magnetic
field, which cuts a receiver coil mounted in the tool housing. The
resistive component of the received signal is termed the „R‟
signal; it is small and 180 deg out of phase with the original
transmitted signal, it is also the primary signal of interest.
The other component of the received signal is the reactive or „X‟
signal which is 270 deg out of phase with the transmitted signal. A
significant part of the „X‟ signal is a result of direct coupling
between the transmitter and receiver coils and is termed the
Mutual signal. In fact the largest component of the received signal
is attributed to mutual coupling. The mutual signal is 90 deg out of
phase with the transmitted signal.
Note: During calibration we calculate the magnitude

of the mutual signal; commonly referred to as
Sonde Error, by suspending the tool in the air,
away from any conductive materials and measuring
the mutual signal. The measured signal is then
subtracted from the received signal during logging.
HRI – shop „loop‟ calibration
In formations that are very conductive, the primary eddy current loop creates magnetic fields that are
strong enough to creating yet more formation current loops. These current loops interfere with each
other; effectively suppressing or reducing the measured conductivity at the receiver coil, leading to
erroneously high resistivity readings. This effect is called „skin effect‟ and is also part of the „X‟ signal.
5/26/2011 45
Note: although we considered only a two coil design, the High Resolution Induction (HRI) incorporates
multiple coils to help eliminate mutual coupling and to enhance both vertical resolution and achieve
deeper depths of investigation. The Array Compensated Resistivity tool (ACRt) also incorporates a
multi coil design, and in addition utilizes multiple frequencies together with software focusing.
Note: ground loop currents generated by the induction tool are concentric with the borehole. They
circulate in the mud, the flushed zone, the transition zone and the uninvaded zone. All these regions,
which are seen in parallel by the tool, contribute to the received signal. The contribution they make is
weighted to some extent by geometric factors, designed to enhance the contribution from the zones
of interest.
Induction tool designs incorporate multiple coil arrays. Another important reason for this is in order to
make measurements at different depths of investigation, so that we can gain information on resistivity
values in the invaded or flushed zone, the transition zone and also far out in the formation in the
uninvaded or virgin zone.
Note: In general terms; increased spacing between transmitter and receiver results in a deeper depth
of investigation and inferior vertical resolution.
The HRIT tool achieves three measured values of resistivity at different depths of investigation; two via
Inductive techniques and a third from a „current device‟, the Digitally Focused Log (DFL). The ACRT
achieves five measurements at different depths of investigation, using purely inductive techniques.
Factors Affecting the Induction

 Induction tools are affected borehole size, borehole fluid invasion, shoulder beds and bed
thickness. Corrections are made manually from the Chart book or automatically through the
logging software.
Use of the Induction

 Determine resistivity of the uninvaded zone (Rt)
 Distinguish between salt water bearing and hydrocarbon bearing formations
 Define bed boundaries
 Estimate invasion boundaries
 Indicate movable hydrocarbons
 Indicate permeable zones
 Correlate formations
 Perform accurate mud resistivity measurements (Rm)
Operational issues
 Can be run where fresh muds, oil-based muds and other non-conductive muds are used,
also refer to ACRt operating chart, based on the Rt/Rm ratio.
 The HRI can be run in environments where Rmf/Rw > 2.5.
 ACRt and HRI upper range of measurement is lower than the Dual-Laterolog, 1000 ohmm
and 2000 ohmm respectively.
 Can be run either centralized or with „stand-offs‟.
5/26/2011 46
Array Induction
TM
The INSITE Array Compensated True Resistivity tool (ACRt ) is an INSITE compatible electric
logging tool. The ACRt tool uses the principles of magnetic induction to determine the conductivity
of geologic strata. The tool contains a transmitter, which generates an alternating magnetic field, and
a receiving array that constantly measures this field. As the magnetic fields expand and collapse they
will induce eddy currents in the surrounding formations, and these currents will induce magnetic fields
of their own. As the ACRt is lifted through the borehole, the system will constantly measure and
record data on the magnetic fields produced by the transmitter and by these eddy currents. By
interpreting the data, the conductivity of the various strata the tool passes through can be
determined.
A single transmitter coil generates magnetic fields at 12 kHz, 36 kHz, and 72 kHz. The primary
signals of the Array Induction are collected by a 6-receiver coil array. Receiver coils are positioned at
6, 10, 17, 29, 50, and 80 inches from the transmitter coil. The transmitter-to-main receiver spacing
TM
controls the depth of investigation and allows the ACRt to make deep elemental measurements
with high-vertical resolution. The ACRt outputs radial depth of investigation curves at depths of 10”,
20”, 30”, 60”, and 90”. Curves for all depths are processed at one, two, and four-foot vertical
resolutions. The ACRt readings can also be resolution matched to the MRIL Prime with a 4-foot
vertical resolution. The tool also provides a borehole fluid resistivity measurement (Rm) that is utilized
along with the shallow arrays to compensate for borehole irregularities and tool position in the well.
Tool Features
Tool Length (Asymmetric Design)
The ACRt is significantly shorter than previous induction tools. The Sonde / Pre-Amplifier section
measures approximately 173.5”. The instrument section measures approximately 60.33”, making the
entire tool 233.92” (19.5 ft). The shorter tool length should increase the ability of the ACRt to traverse
the borehole as well as move some of the sensors above the ACRt lower in the borehole. The most
significant benefit of the asymmetric design is the elimination of balancing the measurement of two
independent coils to arrive at a single output, especially in boreholes prone to producing erratic tool
movement. The asymmetric design results in improved repeatability and accuracy.
Ceramic Components
The close proximity of the short arrays and the transmitter in the ACRt demands the use of a material
with a low and predictable thermal coefficient of expansion. The short spaced coils are wrapped
around ceramic bobbins and the spacers used to “tune” the array are made of the same material. The
use of ceramic insures stability of the arrays and therefore improves the reliability and accuracy of the
radial measurements as well as Rt.
5/26/2011 47
Temperature Correction Algorithm
The temperature correction algorithm for the ACRt utilizes a heat transfer model based on tool-
specific coefficients. Each individual sonde is characterized during a heat cycle and the coefficients
generated are stored with the tool. There are two temperature sensors (RTD – Resistance
Temperature Detectors) placed on the feedpipe of the sonde. The feedpipe is utilized to route wires
through the sonde to the appropriate array coils and it shields the signal on these wires from the
signal of the transmitter coil. The feedpipe is fabricated of copper and has an effect on the
characteristics of each coil array that changes with temperature. In order to compensate for this
change, the feedpipe temperature is measured. One RTD is located under the ceramic bobbins and
the other under the fiberglass portion of the sonde. The additional sensor allows for more accurate
modeling of the temperature distribution in the feedpipe. The additional sensor coupled with the tool-
specific coefficients helps to improve the accuracy and repeatability of the tool.
Automatic Borehole Correction Algorithm

This Bore Hole Correction algorithm utilizes a multitude of inputs to yield a more accurate and
repeatable radial profile. Previous generation tools relied on inputs from the caliper and mud
resistivity Rm to help develop the radial profile for the tool. This algorithm uses those inputs as well as
an inversion of the shallow arrays to assist in determining the position of the tool in the well bore. The
algorithm then uses comparative and iterative methods to determine the appropriate corrections to be
applied based on pre-calculated geometric factors stored in the form of a 4-dimension matrix. The net
result is a more robust radial profile.
Software Focusing Algorithm

Conventional tools attempt to “focus” the tool response using carefully selected coil arrangements.
The “focusing” is therefore fixed by the tool design. In array induction tools, the measurements from
the various arrays are combined and filtered through a software algorithm to achieve “focusing” of the
tool response, thus the name, software focusing. The term “focusing” refers to a process to enhance
the response contribution from an area of interest (specific depth of investigation in the formation)
while reducing the response contribution from the other areas (i.e. the borehole). The method of
software focusing used in the ACRt is called “2-D” or two-dimensional. The 2-D refers to
simultaneous processing in the vertical as well as radial directions. The software focusing method
utilized by the ACRt produces a much-improved radial profile as well as a more accurate
measurement of Rt.
Triple Frequency Array

The ACRt utilizes three frequencies (12 kHz, 36 kHz, and 72 kHz) to alleviate the problems created
by skin effect. Skin effect is a tendency for alternating current (AC) to flow mostly near the outer
surface of a solid electrical conductor. The effect becomes amplified as the frequency increases and
as conductivity increases. With respect to an induction logging tool, this phenomena reduces the
apparent conductivity measurement and alters the predicted geometric factor. This is of particular
importance in low resistivity formations. The ACRt, by virtue of utilizing three frequencies increases
the operating range of the tool and improves the tools resistance to skin effect. This method uses only
the in-phase signal and ignores the noise prone and unstable quadrature (X) signal. The result is
improved response and accuracy in highly conductive formations.
5/26/2011 48
SP
The SP button is mechanically integrated into the ACRt. The previous generation of induction tool
suffered from leakage due to pressure forcing the SP electrode to be removed from the sonde. These
tools also utilized a separate SP sub P/N 101333194) to generate a SP curve. The ACRt buttons
serve as the SP sensors, as well as the oil fill ports in the lower section of the sonde. The result is an
improved SP response coupled with improved mechanical integrity.
Tool Theory
Laterolog measurements require survey current to flow into the formation, so a conductive medium
must be present in the borehole. They cannot be run in boreholes containing air, gas, or oil-based
mud systems. In wells where a definitive Laterolog measurement cannot be made, an induction type
tool must be utilized to determine the formation‟s resistivity.
The ACRt is an induction device that uses electromagnetic principles to determine formation
resistivity in boreholes containing fluids of low to medium conductivity, or in air drilled holes. Unlike a
microguard or Laterolog tool, the induction tool does not require current to flow from the tool to the
formation, so a conductive liquid need not be present in the borehole when the tool is run. Induction
tools, as well as Laterolog tools, are designed to operate in formations containing saline waters.
In formations containing fresh (high resistivity) water, there can be insufficient contrast in formation
resistivity to distinguish zones containing hydrocarbons from those containing water. To locate
hydrocarbons in such formations, it is best to use a dielectric tool.
The ACRt may be used to:
Determine resistivity of the un-invaded zone (Rt)

Distinguish between salt water bearing and hydrocarbon bearing formations
Define bed boundaries
Estimate invasion boundaries
Indicate movable hydrocarbons
Indicate permeable zones
Correlate formations
Perform accurate Mud Resistivity measurements (Rm)
The ACRt tool contains one transmitter coil and an array of six receiver coils, which propagate and
detect the electromagnetic fields. The transmitter coil is driven by a composite excitation current at
three frequencies of approximately 12 kHz, 36 kHz, and 72 kHz. The current passing through the
transmitter coil generates an electromagnetic field, which induces electrical currents (eddy currents)
in the formation. These eddy currents in turn generate their own electromagnetic fields, which induce
a voltage, known as the “R-signal,” in the tool‟s receiver coils. Another voltage, called the “X-signal,”
is also induced in the receiver coils. That component results mainly from electromagnetic coupling
between the transmitter and the receiver coils, but is affected by the formation as well.
The amplitude of the R-signal varies with changes in the formation resistivity and is used to determine
that resistivity. The magnitude of the R-signal is reduced in low-resistivity formations (skin effect) and
is affected by the proximity and resistivity of adjacent beds (shoulder bed affect).
5/26/2011 49
The formation conductivity is measured in mS/m (milli-Siemens per meter) commonly called milli-mho
(mmho). It is the reciprocal of the resistivity expressed in ohm-m. Given the resistivity R in ohm-m, the
conductivity C in milli-mho would be calculated as:
C = 1000/R
The ACRt tool makes measurements of formation resistivity at six depths of investigation. The
resistivity measurements are used together to adjust for invasion effects to obtain the true resistivity
of the formation (Rt) and for calculating water saturation in uninvaded zones (Sw).
Skin Effect Correction

Skin effect makes the apparent conductivity value smaller than it should be and makes the response
functions or geometric factors different from the ones derived under the Doll limit, causing severe
non-linearity. Skin effect is a function of three factors: the formation conductivity ( ), the operating
f
frequency ( ) and the transmitter-receiver spacing ( L ). Figure 3 illustrates that skin effect varies
with different operating frequencies. The skin effect correction method utilized by the ACRt corrects
for the skin effect in the aspect of apparent conductivity value and at the same time restores the
geometric factor resulting in a two-dimensional correction. The SEC algorithm works by identifying
differences between the frequencies for each sub-array. Large differences between the three
operating frequencies of a particular sub-array indicate that the array is being influenced by skin
effect. The algorithm works to mitigate this effect. As an example, the data from the three frequencies
in a low conductivity zone should overlay one another, indicating minimal influence by skin effect. The
next step will be to remove the contribution due to the borehole from the data.
Borehole Correction
The measurements from the short spaced sub-arrays of an array induction tool contain significant
borehole effects, which, if not properly corrected for, propagate through the array induction
processing, resulting in false shallow-investigation logs. The purpose of borehole correction is to
remove the borehole effect from the measurement.
The corrections applied to the array curves compensate for the effects of the well bore fluid and
borehole geometry. The corrections are closely tied to the expected Geometric Factor for each array.
The amount of the borehole effect is, besides the tool configuration, a function of the environment
surrounding the tool. This is defined by the borehole geometry, the mud conductivity, the eccentricity
of the tool inside the borehole and the formation conductivity. A perfect borehole correction can only
be accomplished when all these environmental variables are known. The complexity of the borehole
effect and the uncertainty of the environmental variables turn us to adaptive schemes to correct for
the borehole effect.
Automatic Borehole Correction Algorithm: The Automatic Borehole Correction algorithm utilizes a
multitude of inputs to yield a more accurate and repeatable radial profile. Previous generations of
BHC relied on inputs from the caliper and mud resistivity (Rm) to help develop the radial profile for the
tool. The adaptive algorithm uses those inputs as well as an inversion of the shallow arrays and mud
cell to assist in determining the position of the tool in the well bore. The algorithm then uses
comparative and iterative methods to determine the appropriate corrections to be applied based on
known geometric factors stored in the form of a four dimensional matrix. The net result is a more
robust radial profile with less dependency on data from the mud cell and caliper, which could
introduce error into the output of the radial curves. The position of the tool in the well bore and
5/26/2011 50
therefore, the contribution of the borehole fluid to the signal is crucial in obtaining an accurate
correction. The use of a single axis caliper does not accurately describe the borehole geometry and
forces the software to use this value. Inversion of the sub-arrays yields a better description of the
borehole geometry based on the expected response functions of the tool. This method yields more
accurate results for the tool.
High Resolution Array Induction Log – Sensitivity to Invasion
Apparent invasion responses on array induction tools are governed by a host of variables: the depth
of invasion, the resistivity contrast of the invaded and un-invaded zones, the radial geometric factors
of the radial logs, bed thickness, and the borehole correction and processing schemes employed. The
relationship between the invasion depth and the curve separation is non-linear
The HRAI, ACRt, the HDIL (Baker Hughes), and the AIT (Schlumberger) typically could exhibit
different responses (curve separation) to a given invasion condition.
5/26/2011 51
Sonic
Sonic logging is strongly associated with seismic exploration for oil and gas. Some of the first refraction
seismic work was carried out during World War I; in an attempt to determine the location of enemy
artillery batteries. As seismic exploration developed, it became clear that more information was needed
about the sonic velocities of underground formations. The first sonic logging tool (a single transmitter,
dual receiver design) was tested in the late 1930s. It was a failure, perhaps because the downhole
source was the horn of a Model „A‟ Ford. Further development of sonic logging tools was not possible
until improved technology became available at the end of World War II.
Modern sonic tools use at least one transmitter and at least two receivers to record the velocity and
waveforms of refracted sonic energy in the formation and borehole.
Tool Physics
An acoustic wave, (generated by a suitable source/transmitter) travels through materials, (solid, liquid,
or gas) in the form of slight disturbances to the fluid particles. Wave energy will move the particles
parallel (compressional) or perpendicular (shear) to the direction of wave propagation. It is likely that
the material will resist the compressional disturbances more than the shear. The result will be that the
compressional wave disturbance will travel faster than the shear wave disturbance. We can, and do,
detect the separate arrival of compressional waves and shear waves.
Note: Compressional waves are sometimes called primary or P-waves. They are longitudinal waves
where the direction of particle displacement is parallel with the direction of wave travel. All media will
support compressional waves. (The sounds we hear with our ears are in the form of compressional
waves).
Note: Shear waves are sometimes called secondary or S-waves. They are transverse waves where
the direction of particle displacement is perpendicular to the direction of wave travel. Shear waves can be
propagated through solids but not low viscosity fluids (water or air). Shear waves can be made to
propagate through medium-to-high viscosity materials, but they are rapidly attenuated.
Note: various methods have been used to generate acoustic waves for sonic logging, these include
piezoelectric and magneto-strictive, monopole transducers, which generate omni-directional waves
(waves sent out from the transducer in all directions), (FWS, BCS tools). Directional Shear waves can
be generated in the formation by using Dipole transducers (‘pistons/shuttles’ or a ‘bender bar’).
Bender bar transducers, which are rectangular piezoelectric plates bonded to a brass plate, are utilized
in the WSTT tool. One transducer is aligned to the ‘XX’ plane and the other to the ‘YY’ plane. The
WSTT also includes a piezoelectric monopole transducer for conventional compressional wave
generation.
The following applies to monopole tools and to some extent also to dipole tools:
A compressional „P‟ wave is generated in the fluid, at the transmitter; this wave traverses the
borehole and will interact with the formation in a number of ways on its path to the receiver. In the
two „trivial‟ cases, the wave simply passes through the borehole fluid or the tool housing. In the
important case the wave impinges on the borehole wall, and is reflected or refracted (direction
changes), depending on the incident angle of the wave and the acoustic properties of the borehole
fluid and the formation.
5/26/2011 52
At small incident angles, we have reflected waves which travel
back and forth across the borehole. As the incident angle (Snell‟s
law) increases, we get refracted body waves which will continue
into the formation. As the incident angle increases further we get
critically refracted surface waves (both compression and shear,
though at slightly different incident angles), which travel along
the borehole wall.
Another mode of transmission is as a „guided‟ or Stoneley
wave, which travels as a compressional disturbance in the
borehole fluid; displacing the fluid, into the formation as it passes.
Stoneley wave amplitude and frequency can be used to give a
qualitative indication of formation permeability.
Finally, there are also several interactions between critically
refracted surface waves and reflected waves which result in
„Leaky‟ and pseudo-Rayleigh waves.
The received waveform is a composite of

all the waves described above. Critically
refracted waves and Stoneley‟s are of
primary interest. The compressional wave
travels fastest and appears at the start of
the waveform, the shear wave appears
next; the Stoneley wave is slower than both
and appears towards the end of the
recorded waveform.
Basic sonic logging involves measuring the arrival

time of the compressional wave at two receivers,
separated by a known distance (1 ft or 2ft). From this
information we can calculate the acoustic velocity of
the formation; generally called interval travel time or
„Delta-T‟, expressed in micro-seconds per foot (μs/ft).
The final step is to calculate formation porosity from
Delta-T.
t log t matrix
s t fluid t matrix
Early tools used a single transmitter and two
receivers, later tools; two transmitters and two
receivers, arranged symmetrically (BCS) or one
transmitter and four receivers (FWS). The WSTT
incorporates three transmitters and thirty-two (eight banks of 4) receivers. Note: symmetrical tools
can compensate for washout and tool tilt, asymmetrical tools can only compensate for washout. As
the ability to digitize, record and analyze waveform data improved; sonic logging expanded to include
both travel time measurement and complete waveform recording („full wave‟ services).
5/26/2011 53
Operational Issues
Sonic logging relies on the ability to transmit a sound wave from a transmitter at one end of a
logging tool to a receiver at the other, in the borehole environment. Difficulties arise when the
signal to noise ratio is „poor‟ in the received waveform, then it becomes difficult to identify and
extract useful data.
 Noise, is often the result of centralization or stand-off hardware on the tool body and can
usually be minimized by reducing logging speed, and by correct placement of the hardware.
 Noise is also generated by gas entry into the borehole, as a result of under balanced
conditions. There‟s little that can be done in these circumstances, other than to increase
mud „weight‟.
 Centralization is important, particularly if we are acquiring waveform data, and not simply
acquiring „delta-T‟ information. This may be difficult to achieve in deviated boreholes with
long heavy toolstrings.
 Borehole „rugosity‟, caves or washouts all affect the ability of the tool to record good data.
Note: detection of the compression arrival at each receiver can be achieved by se tting a threshold;
once this threshold is exceeded by the signal, the travel time can be calculated. If the signal
amplitude is very small, threshold detection may miss the first compressional arrival ( cycle skip)
and skip to a later peak which is large enough to cross the threshold.
More recently semblance processing has been the implemented, where waveforms from different
receivers are compared and aligned by software and the ‘time shift’ required for ‘best’ alignment of
the waveforms (correlation) is measured.
Waveforms can also be stacked and various frequency filters applied in order to enhance features
and identify particular components.
Uses of the Sonic

 Calculation of porosity based on compressive wave travel time
 Calculation of Rock elastic properties (Young‟s and Bulk moduli, and Poisson‟s ratio) from
compressional and shear travel times. The ability to obtain rock properties is important
when we want to fracture the rock to increase production.
 Identification of fractures from Stoneley, Compressive and shear wave amplitudes
 Identification of formation principal stress directions
 Indication of porosity from Stoneley wave analysis
 Acoustic data can also be obtained in cased-hole provided the casing is well cemented.
5/26/2011 54
Cement Bond Log
After running casing and cementing, a well program will usually call for a cement bond log (CBL) to be
run prior to completion, this is to ensure a „competent‟ cement sheath in the annular space between
the casing and formation.
Cement bond logs were developed from observation of open-hole sonic tool response in casing; in
poorly bonded casing, open-hole „delta-t‟ (travel time) reads a stable well known value (57μs/ft). In well
bonded casing the delta-t „skips‟ or becomes erratic. This was caused by a decrease in the amplitude
of the casing signal because of the cement bonded to its outside surface.
Cement bond tools make use of travel time and other acoustic wave properties like amplitude to
ascertain cement bond quality at the casing/cement interface and at the cement/formation interface.
Tool Physics
An acoustic wave, (generated by an omni-directional, monopole source/transmitter) travels through
the wellbore fluid (mud or completion brine) in the form of a compressional disturbance. This
compressional wave impinges on the casing internal wall and is reflected back across the wellbore or
refracted – depending on the incident angle. Particular wave paths may be refracted along the casing
as compressional waves or undergo conversion to shear waves. Part of the wave energy may
propagate beyond the casing into the cement, reaching to cement formation interface, where once
more, refraction and conversion occur. Ultimately at a receiver, we observe the superposition of all
these various interactions as a composite acoustic waveform (just as we would with an open-hole
acoustic service).
Note; the receiver generates a small output voltage in response to a pressure pulse. The transmitter
generates a small pressure pulse when subjected to a voltage. Omni-directional describes the
geometry of the pressure pulse generated at the transmitter – it propagates 360 degrees radially in all
directions. as you’d guess the receiver ‘averages’ the response from all incoming directions.
Imagine looking at the wave form as it arrives at the receiver; the picture will be complicated since it‟s a
composite of all the different paths and conversions experienced by the transmitted wave. What we
see in simple terms is:
 An initial quiet period, starting a time t=0

(firing time), before any incoming waveform
arrives - up to the time of the first arrival.
 Next – the first arrival – which most likely
came through the steel casing (shortest
path), but which could potentially come from
a very fast formation in certain circumstances.
 Then – formation arrivals and arrivals from the cement, their position dependent on the
relative acoustic velocities of the rock and cement.
 Finally – fluid arrivals – which traveled directly along the mud column.
Typical material acoustic ‘speeds’

 Casing 57μs/ft
 Cement 100 µs/ft
 Formations 40-140μs/ft
 Fluid (mud) 189-208μs/ft
5/26/2011 55
The observation „window‟ is generally 200 – 1200μs, so we won‟t see arrivals which traveled along the
tool body itself, since the tool body is slotted and the path along the tool is very long – outside the
observation time.
Note: with a typical 3ft-5ft tool the first casing arrival will appear around 259μs, depending on the
casing size and tool size (see below).
The question is – what in this received waveform is useful for interpreting cement bond?
Earlier we said that open-hole delta-t showed promise as an indicator of cement presence and indeed
it does, the problem is that the information from delta-t is more qualitative than quantitative.
Observation of the waveform amplitude (of the first arrival – generally termed the pipe wave) is found
to be a much better indicator of cement quality; more precisely of the bond between casing and
cement. As the casing/cement bond improves, the amplitude of the first arrival becomes more
attenuated. Or to look at it another way: The signal from the casing – which can „ring‟ freely when no
cement is present, becomes more and more constrained as cement surrounds the casing and
consequently rings less and less.
Actually there are three parameters that prove to be useful in this type of interpretation:
 Travel time of the first (fastest) arrival from transmitter to receiver (casing arrival)
 Amplitude of the first (casing) arrival in the received waveform
 Complete waveform „character‟ across the whole observation „window‟
Note: detection of the casing first arrival is achieved by setting a threshold; once the first arrival
exceeds this threshold, travel time can be measured. However If the casing signal amplitude is very
small, threshold detection may skip to a later peak, large enough to cross the threshold.
Note: ‘character’ refers to the amplitude of the complete waveform across a 200 – 1200μs time window
mentioned earlier.
Tool design
Traditional CBL tools are asymmetric, they are configured with a single transmitter and two receivers,
one with a 3ft offset, the other with a 5ft offset. More recently CBL tools have been configured with an
additional segmented receiver (2ft offset). This configuration is known as the radial CBL, or RCBL.
Note: with the RCBL the idea is to observe the received waveform from eight different directions (45
degree sectors) rather than observe an average, as would be the case with an omni-directional
receiver, this is particularly useful for identifying cement channels).
Now we can be more specific about where we obtain our information:
 Travel time is measured from the waveform at the 3ft receiver.

 Amplitude is measured from the waveform at the 3ft receiver.
 The composite Waveform will be observed from the 5ft receiver (and the segmented receiver
of the RCBL, if are using this type of tool).
Amplitude is the primary curve, enabling us to quantify the „quality‟ of the cement bond immediately
behind casing. We simply measure the height of the first arrival in the waveform and compare it to
some reference value.
5/26/2011 56
Travel time refers to the time taken for this first arrival to travel from the transmitter to the receiver.
For a centralized tool in a particular size casing it should be a fixed value and could easily be
calculated with knowledge of the travel times for mud and casing, tool O.D. and Casing I.D.
Example:
9 5/8” casing = (8.8” I.D.)
Tool O.D. = 3 1/4:”
Transmitter – receiver distance = 3ft
Transmitter O.D. – casing I.D. = 2.8”
Receiver O.D. – casing I.D = 2.8”
Casing speed = 57μs/ft
Fluid speed = 189μs/ft
Total travel time = (2.8/12) x 189 + (3x 57) + (2.8/12) x 189 = 259μs
Travel time is used as a quality control curve, basically to confirm that the tool is centralized; why
is this important? If the tool isn‟t centralized the amplitude will be reduced, since the receiver is a
composite of arrivals from all directions. Low amplitude resulting from a non-centralized tool would
mislead us into thinking that the cement bond is better than it actually is!
Complete Waveform usually termed (micro-seismogram) MSG or (variable density log) VDL provides
us with information about the bond between cement and formation. If there is a good bond at this
interface we generally observe strong formation arrivals (high amplitudes) in the complete waveform.
Tool response
In general; cement bond quality, at the casing/cement interface is deduced from the amplitude of the
first arrival from casing – it is influenced by many factors:
 Channeling – where cement is not present around the entire casing periphery the received
first arrival amplitude will be reduced. Once a channel is identified, the remedy is to squeeze
cement in cases where isolation is required. Remember that in order to confirm a channel we
will need to run the RCBL or CAST tool (Circumferential Acoustic Scanning Tool), both allow
an assessment of cement bond around the periphery of the casing.
 Micro-annulus (reduces amplitude) – where a micro-gap exists between the casing O.D. and
the surrounding cement sheath, the received first arrival amplitude will be reduced. Once
micro-annulus is identified it is not necessary to attempt a squeeze – the gap is not large
enough to allow the cement slurry to enter. Micro-annulus can be identified by running the
CBL under pressure. Pressurization will close the micro-gap, resulting in reduced amplitude
readings, indicative of good cement bond!
 Cement Compressive strength – the cement may not be fully „cured‟ or it may actually
achieve a lower compressive strength through design.
 Casing thickness – there‟s little you can do about this, the key is to calibrate downhole. The
CAST tool is configured for casing thickness by choosing a different transducer frequency,
but the CBL and RCBL have no such option.
 Cement sheath thickness – regardless of annular „fill‟; strangely enough, even with a
completely filled annulus of good quality cement, if the annulus is less than ¾”, the first arrival
will not achieve full attenuation.
5/26/2011 57
 Borehole fluid – again downhole calibration at known free-pipe will ovoid issues with
different types of borehole fluid.
 Gas influx into the cement – under certain conditions, with the cement developing
compressive strength, hydrostatic pressure from the cement column is reduced against the
formation (particularly formations where there is some fluid loss from the cement during this
period) and gas from the formation may permeate into the cement annulus.
 Fast formations – If the Cement bond is good the casing signal will be strongly attenuated
and a fast formation arrival can be mistakenly identified as the casing signal and wrongly
interpreted as poor bond. This can occur with „tight‟ formations (little or no porosity). Acoustic
speeds in „tight‟ rock are very close to acoustic speed in steel (57μs/ft). Identification of fast
formations is easier if we have an open-hole log to compare; then we can see the amplitude
curves comparison with other log curves.
Rock acoustic ‘speeds’
 Anhydrite 50μs/ft
 Limestone 48µs/ft
 Dolomite 44μs/ft
 Sandstone 56μs/ft
Operational Issues
CBL logging relies on the ability to transmit a sound wave from a transmitter at one end of a logging
tool to a receiver at the other, in the borehole environment.
 Difficulties arise when the signal to noise ratio is „poor‟ in the received waveform, then it
becomes difficult to identify the first casing arrival in the received waveform. Noise is often
the result of centralization hardware on the tool body and can often be minimized by
reducing logging speed, and by correct placement of centralizing hardware. (Not only will
our amplitude be incorrect in these circumstances, travel time will also be in error).
 Centralization is important, even small offsets (1/4”) can result in very large amplitude
reduction, of the order of 50%.
 The CBL is normally run with a gamma ray tool and Collar locator (occasionally a neutron too).
Gamma and CCL are both are depth correlation devices. The neutron is used for cased-hole
porosity. The gamma ray enables us to correlate to the original open-hole logs, the CCL
enables us to correlate subsequent cased-hole services – namely perforation and setting plugs
and packers, where we may or may not have a gamma tool available.
 The CBL and RCBL rely on downhole calibrations; many factors affect the received signal
amplitude so the best way to ensure correct tool response is to calibrate the tool under
downhole conditions. The idea is to find a place in the well where we have free-pipe (not
always easy to locate). And force the software to use this free pipe amplitude reading as a
reference for all other places in the well. As you‟d expect; all other measurements must be
less than or equal to this free-pipe value they cannot be higher! The only situation that
might lead to anomalous readings would be a change in downhole conditions e.g. logging
through two different casing sizes, without re-calibrating).
 During logging expect well bonded sections (casing/cement) to exhibit travel time skipping –
the reason is simply – where the amplitude of the first casing arrival is very low, it becomes
difficult to identify using threshold detection methods and skipping will take place.
5/26/2011 58
Uses of the CBL

 Indication of good/poor cement bond between casing/cement & cement/formation
 Identification of channels (RCBL)
Ultrasonic tools
For many years the CBL has been the standard method for evaluating cement bond quality. The
question arises – when faced with partial bonding; can an effective squeeze be preformed? Above
we noted that a micro-annulus can be distinguished from other forms of partial or sub-standard
bonding. One particular case we are interested to identify is a channel. A channel may allow fluids
to migrate from one place in the well to another, producing a high water-cut for example.
Identifying a channel requires some knowledge of amplitude response from around the periphery of
the casing. RCBL is advantageous in this respect, so too is another tool – the CAST.
The CAST incorporates a rotating „scanner‟ head with a single transducer. The transducer serves
as both transmitter and receiver, operating at a much higher frequency than the CBL (340 kHz
compared to 12-23 kHz). As the scanner rotates ultrasonic pulses emitted by the transducer,
impinge on the outer casing wall and are reflected back, part of the wave continues through the
casing, reaching the inner wall where again some energy is reflected and some continues on into
the cement. As the tool is pulled up the well bore the succession of „spot‟ measurements (100 per
revolution) form a complete picture, which is related to the acoustic impedance of the material
immediately behind the casing wall. The tool also includes a directional package or „sub‟, so that
channels can be identified together with their orientation.
Typical Acoustic Impedances

 Water 1.5 MRayls
 Drilling mud 2 – 3 MRayls
 Foam Cements 2 – 3 MRayls
 Conventional Cement 3 – 6 MRayls
Mud and conventional cement are readily identifiable, foam cements are more problematic, since
they tend to look like mud! Special processing (ACE – Advanced Cement Evaluation) can reveal
differences between foam cements and mud, the technique involves software analysis of the
character of individual impedance curves, which is notably different between solids and fluids.
CAST is almost always run together with a CBL, CCL and Gamma tool. Though it can provide
detailed information about the bond immediately behind casing, the CBL is still required in order to
provide information about quality of the bond at the cement formation interface.
5/26/2011 59
Chapter 3 – Wireline Operations
Practical Wireline Electronics

It is useful to be able to understand how our tools work and the environment in which they are
expected to perform. Many of our services, particularly those associated with cased-hole require a
grasp of practical electrical issues, and both cased and open-hole work occasionally require some
basic electrical trouble-shooting skills. For Electrical/Electronics graduates this course will be nothing
more than a very short overview or refresher, for others less familiar with the material, it will suffice as
an introduction, to encourage you to delve further into the subject.
Logging System
Surface Tool Logging „systems‟ comprise; a down-
hole toolstring and surface system.
PTC (Data)
The surface system provides power for
Data downhole tools and an interface for
Elgar (AC) Wireline
receiving data sent from the tools. At
the toolstring; power is used for
Xantrex (DC) Load
instrumentation and motors (On the
diagrams below the term „load‟ simply
California indicates that power provided by the
Instruments (AC) surface system is dissipated in the toolstring).
Data is acquired, digitized and

packaged at the toolstring for
Surface Tool
transmission to the surface. These two
„sub-systems‟; power and data, are the
CHIP (Data)
main components of the logging
Data
Wireline system. For LOGIQ-B, the panels used
to provide the power and
Matsusada (DC) Load communications interface for cased
and open-hole services are shown
below:
Power
Power is dissipated or consumed by a device (load) – in this case the toolstring. Power is the product
of voltage and current (V.I), by making use of Ohms Law V = I.R we can also express power in other
ways:
P V I V2 I2 R
R
Circuit Analysis
It is useful as a Field Professional to be able to apply Ohm‟s Law in simple situations, to calculate
voltages and currents. Analysis makes use of the following relationships:
Series Resistors Rt R1 R2 R3 ; Parallel Resistors 1 1 1 1
Rt R1 R2 R3
It is sufficient to note that series and parallel Inductances are analyzed in a similar way to resistors;
5/26/2011 60
Series Inductances Lt L1 L2 L3 ; Parallel Inductances 1 1 1 1
Lt L1 L2 L3
Capacitors behave differently:
Parallel Capacitors Ct C1 C2 C3 ; Series Capacitors 1 1 1 1
Ct C1 C2 C3
For basic circuit analysis Kirchhoff‟s Laws apply.
 The sum of voltages around a closed loop equals zero

 The net current flow into or out of a node equals zero
Analysis of DC circuits is simple; AC is however more complicated, since voltage and current vary
and are generally out of phase. We won‟t extend our analysis to AC circuits and the complexities
associated with out of phase current and voltage.
Basic circuit analysis to find equivalent resistance
5 5
10 15
12 Ω 12 Ω
Ω Ω
v DC
v DC
20 30
Ω Ω
10 15
Ω Ω 5
5
Ω
Ω
5 12
12 v
v Ω
DC
12 DC
22
Ω Ω
5
Ω
Example – calculation of circuit values
40Ω
20Ω
DC
12v
60Ω
15Ω
Equivalent resistance 31.7Ω

Total current 379mA
Total Power dissipated 4.6W
5/26/2011 61
Capacitance & Inductance
Capacitors and Inductors introduce transient effects when DC voltages are applied. A capacitor will
initially allow current to flow until the capacitor is fully charged, then the flow of current ceases and the
capacitor exhibits the same voltage as the source. An inductor also displays transient effects; initially
current flow will be zero and voltage across the inductor will be at a maximum, gradually voltage will
drop (in a perfect inductor to zero, but in practice to a value related to its inherent resistance) and
current will flow. How quickly these transient effects take place is governed by the time constant of
the circuit. In summary; a capacitor presents an open circuit to DC and an inductance a short circuit
to DC. Capacitors and inductors conduct AC; opposition to AC current flow is termed „reactance‟ and
is a function of the AC frequency.
Transformers
Transformers are used to couple AC power at the surface to the wireline and deliver it to the tool.
They are also used to reduce or increase voltages to required levels. A transformer is nothing more
than an device with an input coil and an output coil wound around an iron core. The level of voltage
increase or decrease is determined by the coil‟s „turn ratio‟. A step-up transformer does just that; it
steps up the output voltage compared to the input. The example below is a 2:1 step-down
transformer. Power at the transformer input is the same as that at the output if we ignore any losses,
so V.I (in) = V.I (out). That way we can easily calculate voltage and current at the output.
2:1
2A, 220v 4A, Vs
AC
Wireline
For the wireline, electrical isolation and continuity are critical in order to perform trouble-free jobs.
Although robust and simple in construction; the ability to transmit signals (data) and power is
compromised when either isolation or continuity do not meet specification. Checks need to be carried-
out on a regular basis to ensure that the cable conductors are isolated from one another and also
from cable armor and that each conductor is continuous from the surface system to the cable head.
For analysis and troubleshooting purposes the wireline conductors can be viewed as a sequence of
discrete resistors. Typical wireline resistance (multi-conductor) is 10Ω/1000ft and for mono-conductor
(cased-hole) 3Ω/1000ft.
Ω
MΩ
Simple „resistive‟ Cable- model, isolation & continuity
5/26/2011 62
Resistance in the wireline conductors causes attenuation of both power and signal.
Example – consider the case where you have 20,000 feet of cable on your drum and you are logging
an open-hole toolstring which requires 120 volts and 1 amp at the head to operate. How much
voltage must be placed at the surface to generate sufficient voltage at the tool?
1A
?Ω
120v
If a cable is damaged, it may leak. The problem is to find where the leak is located. A leak is
represented by a connection (often a short) from the leaking conductor to armor. Here‟s a technique
to make a rough estimate of leak location using a 9V battery and a voltmeter.
9v
Cable total length is 20,000ft

V measures 7V at the surface system „end‟.
The leak shows to be located at (7/9) X 20,000, about 15550ft from the slip ring or 4450ft from the
„head end‟ of the cable.
Cable model
Our resistive cable model requires a few modifications before it represents the cable more precisely;
we need to include effects from both
capacitance and inductance. Both
introduce distortion to signals as a
function of signal frequency.
Capacitance also introduces
attenuation for AC transmission.
You will probably have seen the effects of capacitance if you‟ve tested cable isolation with a Mega-
ohm meter and discharged the line following testing.
5/26/2011 63
Power transmission
Power is transmitted as AC and DC from surface supplies depending on its intended use. AC power
may be converted to DC downhole or used directly by downhole tools.
Wireline
System Power Tool Power
I1, V1 I2, V2 I3, V3 I4, V4
AC
DC
AC & DC power transmission techniques

In order to convert AC to DC a bridge-rectifier network is used on the downhole side. This is a
configuration of diodes which rectifies or „channels‟ the AC input current to produce a DC output
AC AC
DC
DC
AC to AC transmission & DC conversion
DC power can be transmitted directly from surface supplies to the downhole tools using „phantom‟
transmission as below
DC
DC
In practice only certain conductors are used for transmission, they are chosen to reduce „cross-talk
and distortion. In cased-hole services using mono-cable there‟s only one conductor, but in open-hole
with multi-conductor cables special „cable-modes‟ are selected for optimum transmission
performance.
5/26/2011 64
Communication – Data
Communication or Data
transmission occurs simultaneously
Telemetry
System Tool
with power transmission, though
current and voltage levels and
frequencies are usually different.
Cased and open-hole services use
various communication formats
between the surface system panels (PTC & CHIP) and the downhole toolstring (GTET in the case of
open hole). Besides data traveling from the tool to the surface, commands are sent from the surface
to the toolstring to configure or control tool operation during logging.
Telemetry is coupled to the cable in
the same way as power and by
careful choice of conductors and
transformer „winding polarity‟,
interference between power and
communication signals is reduced
to a minimum. Telemetry Telemetry
Troubleshooting
At the wellsite most problems are not solved at component or even board level. In most cases
solutions require tool or surface panel change-out. In the past detailed trouble-shooting may have
been possible, but now, much of our equipment is not analog but digital (using „high density‟ surface
mount components in many cases) and simply not amenable to quick and easy repair (even the
maintenance lab will probably resort to „board‟, rather than component replacement for many tools).
The main requirement for the Field Professional would be to identify the problem at the highest level
(uphole, downhole, which tool or surface panel), in order to solve the problem and continue logging.
The key is a logical approach to pinpointing the problem, based on a good grasp of the basic
architecture of the surface system and tools involved. The ability to relay clear, useful information to
technical support, from the wellsite also requires some knowledge of electrical, electronic and
mechanical systems.
5/26/2011 65
Example – Tool won‟t work, there‟s no output from the analog board nor the digital board, but the
output from the AC/DC switch board seems ok – where to start?
5/26/2011 66
Resistance, Resistivity, Conductivity & Electric Fields
Resistance (R) relates voltage to current using Ohms Law; it is a measure of how difficult/easy it is to
pass a current through a material and is a function of the material geometry (in the simple case of a
copper wire for example). When we deal with electronic circuits, geometry is straight-forward and
simple to calculate.
Resistivity ( ) is a fundamental property of a material, one we are primarily interested in when

making open-hole log measurements. We immerse tools in the borehole to generate Electric Fields
in the borehole and the formation and measure voltages and currents to calculate formation
resistivity. The associated geometry in these three dimensional situations is much more complex than
the geometry of a simple copper wire and calculating resistivity is less straight-forward.
R L (Resistance/Resistivity relation for a simple copper wire)

A
Note: The reciprocal of resistivity is conductivity ( ). The measure of how ‘easily’ a current can
pass through a material.
Resistivity is a function of temperature; in liquids, resistivity decreases as temperature increases, in

solids resistivity increases as temperature increases. Logging resistivity measurements are primarily
influenced by the liquids in the borehole and formation. Liquids follow a temperature relationship
described below by Arp‟s Equation.
T2 6.77 (Arp‟s Equation)

1 2 T1 6.77
Ohm’s Law & Darcy’s Equation – similarity
V I L (Ohm‟s Law); - resistivity

A
P Q L (Darcy‟s Law); - permeability, - viscosity
A
References
Basic Electronics for the Petroleum Industry – Petroleum Extension Service
5/26/2011 67
PM1 , Connector Conventions, and Tool Mnemonics,
It‟s important to be able to identify and describe the logging tools we use, in order to do this we
require a knowledge of the tool mnemonic. The company has implemented procedures to check basic
tool functionality; these procedures are part of the PM (Preventative Maintenance) program. Carrying
out Preventative Maintenance on tools we take to the wellsite gives us the best chance completing a
logging job without failure, without lost time and ultimately without lost revenue.
Preventative Maintenance
The philosophy behind Preventative Maintenance (PM) is much the same as that behind regular oil
changes your car; make a few basic, but critical checks on a regular basis to avoid possible failure in
the future. Ideally PM checks need to be made post job and post maintenance. Checks that are made
fall into two categories; Mechanical and Electronic. Although the discussion below refers to Logging
tools, the PM program also covers units, trucks and most, if not all equipment used in operations. The
PM status of any tool is readily identified by color tagging.
Note: this discussion centers on PM1, which is the most basic Preventative Maintenance process;
carried out at field level by Operators and Field Professionals. More intrusive Preventative
Maintenance (PM2) is carried out in the lab and usually involves major tool disassembly and rebuild.
The actual checks carried out will be tool dependent, but in general mechanical checks cover seal
inspection and in many cases oil-fill status, for those tools which are „pressure balanced‟. Many
tools have moving parts, exposed to well fluid, so in those cases close examination and lubrication of
these mechanisms is necessary.
Electronic checks cover isolation (or insulation), continuity, and checks to identify basic component
values for diodes, capacitors and inductors (coils). These checks can be made using a standard
analogue meter or using an automated PM tester.
Some tools require large amounts of power, an example would be the

MRIL and RSCT tools, and it has become necessary to ensure cables
and connectors can handle the high currents and voltages required by
these tools. For this reason we do not use the Simpson meter (left) to
make certain isolation checks. Instead wireline and passive „feed
through‟ devices are checked with a Mega-ohm meter (right), which can
supply much higher voltages to ensure cable integrity. These meters are
NOT used for checking tools and other
equipment containing delicate electronic
components.
Automated testing has been around for a while, the biggest difficulty in
setting up such a system is the large variety of equipment and
connector types and also the need to establish a baseline set of values
for each tool. Even tools of the same type rarely display exactly the
same values, so tolerances need to be fairly broad. Tool hardware and
firmware may be modified over time, which could alter PM values.
Such modifications are carried out because of repeated failures need
to be addressed or because improvements are implemented, these modifications are detailed by
NOMEM (Notice of Mandatory Equipment Modification) or OEB (Operations Engineering Bulletins)
and are reflected in some form of Tool History.
5/26/2011 68
Connectors
Tool connections provide electronic connections from tool to tool and ultimately through the wireline
to the surface system. They also provide a mechanical seal at the connector to exclude well bore
fluids. The electronic connection is achieved by male and female pins. A fluid seal is achieved by „O‟
ring and in some cases a combination of „O‟ ring and backup ring.
DITS tool connectors originally came in two varieties; 19 pin male/female at the tool exterior
connectors and 37 pin male/female at any internal connector (many tools comprise more than a
single piece so an internal connector is one that exists between „sub‟ sections of the tool.
Note: in the case of the SDLT, there are two sections; the mandrel and the instrument. The
connections between these two sections would be 37 pin, with male and female connectors.
Note: Mandrel or Sonde is the generic term for the section that houses the sensor hardware,
Electronics, Cartridge or Instrument is the generic term for the section that houses the processing and
data transmission electronics.
In 1997 Halliburton acquired NUMAR and the MRIL (Magnetic Resonance Induction Log) was added
to the suite of tools. In order to combine the MRIL with other DITS tools the number of available
conductors needed to be increased throughout the toolstring, as a result all 19 pin exterior connectors
were upgraded to 37 pin. This was a costly endeavor; the change was made by adding 18 extra pins
to all exterior 19 pin connectors, rather than by machining completely new 37 pin connectors. The
end result is that not all 37 pin connectors have quite the same pin configuration, depending on
whether the connector is an internal 37 pin or a modified external 19 pin.
PM is only part of the overall process, to ensure tools perform correctly at the wellsite; Calibration at
monthly intervals and an operational check after PM1 are also required.
INSITE Connector Conventions
5/26/2011 69
Tool Mneumonics Background
Like most industries Halliburton is festooned with Acronyms and abbreviations. Our tools are no
exception, while many people working with the tools on a regular basis find them fairly easy to
identify, it can be confusing at the beginning.
Wireline & Perforating Services (WPS) was formed from two companies Welex (mostly working in the
USA), and Gearhart (mostly working International). Both companies had tools and surface equipment
of their own. Both companies were providing Open-hole and Cased-hole services. Welex possessed
digital tools for Open-hole (Digital Interactive Telemetry System - DITS tools) as well as analogue
style tools, mostly for Cased-hole work. Gearhart used only analogue tools for both Open and Cased-
hole. After the merger of the two companies, around 1988, attempts to standardize Open-hole
equipment leaned towards DITS tools, which were considered more robust (and more expensive),
and the Gearhart surface system XL1000, which was modified to accommodate both „G‟ and „W‟
series tool systems. A few of the Gearhart tools, notably the High Resolution Induction and Borehole
Compensated Sonic are still used, and were converted to run using DITS telemetry.
Cased-hole tools use either very basic analog signals or transmit simple pulse streams, sometimes in
multiplexed form over a monoconductor wireline. Unlike Open-hole there has been little convergence
of cased-hole tool technology, much is purchased from third party vendors, Sondex (Production
Logging), Titan (Perforating Hardware), Probe (Radial Cement bond Logging).
Let’s take the density tool (SDLT) as an example; the correct tool name is the ‘Spectral Density
Logging tool’ or SDLT. Over time the DITS tool had several major modifications; there have been
versions SDLT-A, B, C & D. These tools are generally rated to 350F and 20000 psi
Later developments to the SDLT and other open-hole tools resulted in the ‘Gibraltar’ Series. These
tools were designed to be extremely rugged, in terms of vibration and shock tolerance and to perform
with minimal maintenance, with servicing required only after many years of operation. They were also
designed to ‘shut down’ once a threshold temperature was reached. Development of the Gibraltar
Series was shelved, ultimately because of cost. Some tool strings were however deployed to the field.
Gibraltar tools can be identified by ‘X’ in the tool mnemonic; the SDLT became SDLT-X. Gibraltar
tools are rated generally to 300F and 20000 psi
Tool design has always been a compromise between various factors; length, weight, performance
under extreme temperatures and pressures, reliability and cost. Another factor that has influenced
tool design is availability of military specification electronic components. Demand for these
components dropped, manufacturers reduced or completely stopped production and availability
became scarce and other sources of high performance components had to be found. At this time,
higher grade components are sourced from manufacturers who supply the automotive industry. Some
of our tools are developed and built ‘in-house’ and for others development and manufacturing is
outsourced to third parties. Manufacturing for WPS is located in Houston; and another manufacturing
center is operating in Singapore.
Following the Gibraltar series, development switched to the INSITE series tools. At the time of writing,
we are in full deployment of INSITE tools. Both the System and tool strings are undergoing significant
changes. One change of particular note is the development of a new system of telemetry based on
network architecture, with each tool identified as a network peripheral, with its own I.P. address. Tools
5/26/2011 70
in the INSITE series are identified with an ‘I’, so the SDLT becomes SDLT-I. INSITE tools are rated
generally to 350F and 20000psi
WPS also has a series of tools which are designed for high temperature and slim-hole applications,
these are the Hostile tools. This series of tools has been in existence for many years and also utilizes
DITS telemetry; they are generally rated to 500F for 6 hours and 25000 psi. They are identified by the
prefix ‘H’, so the Hostile SDLT is the HSDL.
Open and Cased-hole tools, Trucks etc. all have associated mnemonics. Identifying and locating the
correct replacement parts requires knowledge of the correct tool description and mnemonic.
Open Hole Tool Mneumonics
Acoustic
BCAS-I - Insite Borehole Compensated Array Sonic
FWST - Full Wave Sonic Tool
ISAT-I - INSITE Sonic Array Tool
WSTT-I - Insite WaveSonic Tool
WSTT-X - Gibraltar Class WaveSonic Tool
XACT - Pulsed Power Multi-pole Acoustic Tool
Auxiliary
BHPT - Borehole Properties Tool
D2TS - DITS 2 Telemetry Sub
D4TG - Quad DITS Telemetry Unit Gamma
D4TG-X - Gibraltar Class Quad DITS Telemetry Unit Gamma
FIAC - Four Independent Arm Caliper
FXIS-I - Flex Joint Insite Series
GTET-I - Insite Gamma Telemetry Tool
ICT-I - Insite Caliper Tool
IDT-I - Insite Directional Tool
MCEJ/SCEJ – Multi-Conductor/Single Conductor E-Line Jars
SPSUB-I - Insite Spontaneous Potential Sub
Coring
SWC - Sidewall Coring (Percussion)
Imaging
CAST-F - Circumferential Acoustic Scanning Tool - Fast
CAST-V - Circumferential Acoustic Scanning Tool - Visualization
EMIT - Electrical Micro Imaging Tool
OMRI - Oil Based Mud Reservoir Imager
XRMI - Extended Range Micro-Imager
NMR
MRIL - Magnetic Resonance Imaging Logging
Pressure and Sampling
BHPT - Borehole Properties Tool
HSFT - Hostile Sequential Formation Tester
RDT - Reservoir Description Tool
RSCT - Rotary Side Wall Coring Tool
SFT-IV - Selective Formation Tester IV
SFTT - Sequential Formation Tester Tool
5/26/2011 71
Nuclear
GTET-I - Insite Gamma Telemetry Tool
NGRT - Natural Gamma Ray Tool
CSNG - Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma
CSNG-I - Insite Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma
D4TG - Quad DITS Telemetry Unit Gamma
D4TG-X - Gibraltar Class Quad DITS Telemetry Unit Gamma
DSEN - Dual Spaced Epithermal Neutron
DSNT - Dual Spaced Neutron Tool
DSNT-I - Insite Dual Spaced Neutron Tool
DSNT-X - Gibraltar Class Dual Spaced Neutron Tool
PSGT - Pulsed Spectral Gamma Tool
SDLT - Spectral Density Logging Tool
SDLT-I - Insite Spectral Density Logging Tool
Hostile Tools
HDIL - Hostile Dual Induction Tool
HDSN - Hostile Dual Spaced Neutron Tool
HECT - Hostile Environment Caliper Tool
HEDL - Hostile Dual Laterolog Tool
HEPU - Hostile Environment Power Unit
HETS - Hostile Environment Telemetry Sub
HFWS - Hostile Full Wave Sonic
HGNC - Hostile Gamma Neutron CCL
HGNI - Hostile Gamma Neutron Instrument
HNGR - Hostile Natural Gamma Ray
HSDL - Hostile Spectral Density
Resistivity
ACRt – Array Compensated True Resistivity
DLLT - Dual Laterolog Logging Tool
DLLT-I - Insite Dual Laterolog Logging Tool
EMIT - Electrical Micro Imaging Tool
HFDT - High Frequency Dielectric Tool
HRAI - High Resolution Array Induction
HRAI-I - Insite High Resolution Array Induction
HRAI-X - Gibraltar High Resolution Array Induction
HRIT - High Resolution Inductance Tool - DITS
MSFL-MEL - Micro Spherically Focused Tool
MSFL-I - Insite Micro Spherically Focused Tool
SPSUB-I - Insite Spontaneous Potential Sub
Cased Hole Tool Mneumonics

Evaluation / Pipe Inspection
BCDT-A - Borehole Compensated Sonic (DITS) Tool
CAST-F - Circumferential Acoustic Scanning Tool - Fast
CAST-V - Circumferential Acoustic Scanning Tool –
Visualization
CBL/MSG Cement Bond Log/Microseismogram
CIT - Casing Inspection Tool
5/26/2011 72
Computed Products
DHV - Down Hole Video
METG - Multi Frequency Electromagnetic Thickness Gauge
PIT - Pipe Inspection Tool
RCBL/RCBS - Radial Cement Bond Tools
RBT - Sondex 8-Sector Radial Bond Tool at 3-1/8" OD
Formation Evaluation (Cased Hole)
CNT - CSS 1-11/16 " Compensated Neutron Tool
CSNG - Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma
DSNT - Dual Spaced Neutron Tool
FCMT - Formation Compaction Monitoring Tool
Mechanical Services
Downhole Power Unit (DPU) Downhole Power Unit
Baker 5 – 10 - 20
Shorty Shorty Setting Tools
JBT – Junk Basket
Correlation
GPLT-EDC - Applied Gamma Ray Perforator Tool and SAS - Shock Absorber Sub
GPLT-TDC - Gamma Perforating Large Tool FOM - Titan
GPST-TDC - Gamma Perforating Slim Tool FOM - Titan
GPWP - Titan GR/Temp/Pressure W/Perf Tool
Oriented Perforatiog
Production Logging
TTTC-B - Through-Tubing Telemetry Cartridge Model B
Pulsed Neutron Applications
PSGT - Pulsed Spectral Gamma Tools
RMT Elite - Reservoir Monitoring Tool Elite
SpFL - Spectra-Flow Logging Tool
TMDL - Thermal Multigate Decay Tool Lithology
General Mneumonics
Deployment Systems
CCTS - Cable Cutter Tool Sub (Texas Oil Tools)
DTDD - Downhole Tension Device DITS
MCSA-D - DITS Multiconductor Swivel Adapter
REW - Reservoir Evaluation While Fishing
Logging Heads
DITS - 3-5/8 Standard DITS Cable Head (SCH)
LCH - Load Cell Cable Head
MCH - Monocable Head
RWCH - Releasable Wireline Cable Head
Surface Systems
LOGIQ-OH - New Open Hole System
LOGIQ-CH - New Cased Hole System
XL2K - EXCELL 2000
Trucks and Skids
HESS - EXCELL 2000 HES Skid
HEST - EXCELL 2000 HES Truck
5/26/2011 73
Cable Care
Cable is the critical component, connecting surface equipment to a suite of logging tools.
Construction
Although there are a number of cable manufacturers, cable designs tend to be much the same from
each; materials and dimensions will however vary, in order to meet special requirements or as new
materials are developed to meet particular borehole conditions.
Logging cable design is based around mechanical and electrical properties. Mechanically; cables
are required to withstand high tensile loading, often supporting a heavy string of logging tools in the
borehole, which may exceed 2000lb, not including cable weight. Including cable weight and downhole
friction; tensions in excess of 9000lb may be encountered. From an electrical standpoint, cables need
to transmit both high frequency signal and low frequency AC and DC power.
Cables fall into two broad categories; mono-conductor cables, generally used for cased-hole work
and multi-conductor cables, which are used for open-hole work. Most logging cables use either a
single electrical conductor (monocable) or seven conductors (multi-conductor cable). Cable
conductors are made of stranded copper, insulated with some form of polymer. Polymer choice
depends on temperature requirements; insulators may be simple low-cost plastics or something more
exotic (and consequently more expensive!). Insulated conductors and „filler‟ strands are then wound
together and taped (to retain shape) before being armored for mechanical strength.
Multi-conductor cable Mono-conductor cable
5/26/2011 74
Mechanical
Under tension, logging cable behaves in a similar way to a simple spring; it stretches, and has a
natural tendency to rotate. We consider stretch to take place in two forms; „elastic‟ (recoverable) and
„permanent‟ (non-recoverable). Elastic stretch is predictable and can be calculated using known
stretch coefficients. Plastic stretch, which is present in new cables, is unpredictable and though
significant, cannot easily be calculated nor accounted for under field conditions. Once a cable has
been exposed to normal logging tension across its length, it is said to be seasoned and will generally
exhibit only elastic stretch in this „normal (working) tension range‟.
Note: Cable stretch coefficient has units:

ft and is related to the spring constant in Hooke’s
kft.k #
Law. Typical values for a multi-conductor cable are around 0.7
ft , and for monocable, around
kft.k #
2.9
ft . As you can see, monocable, being generally thinner than multi-conductor cable is much
kft.k #
easier to stretch and cannot support very heavy toolstrings.
Logging cable strength is derived from two steel, helically
wound armor layers, each layer wrapped with an opposing
Inner Armor „lay‟, this reduces the tendency for the cable to rotate. If a
tool is run in hole, free to rotate, the tool will tend to spin. If
the tool is unable to rotate then any torque generated in the
cable will not be released. Under these circumstances, a
drop in tension may allow the cable to twist and „knot‟
under the influence of stored torque.
The tension seen at surface while running in hole is the
sum of tool weight and line weight. Tension will increase
linearly as we run in hole and the length of line suspended
is increased. In ideal circumstances, with no friction, the
tension experienced pulling out of hole would show a
Outer Armor
gradual decline, and exhibit the same tension profile seen
when running in hole.
Note: in practice buoyancy effects on both the toolstring and cable have to be considered. Buoyancy
is a function of bore-hole mud density and acts to reduce tool and cable weight; and hence the total
tension read at surface. For example, buoyancy effect on cable:
CWIM CWIA CWIA CWIW mud

wtr
CWIM Cable weight in mud (lb/kft)

CWIA Cable weight in air (lb/kft)
CWIW Cable weight in water (lb/kft)
mud Mud density (lb/gal)
wtr Water density (lb/gal)
Note: the maximum cable tension allowed is half the cable minimum breaking strength, beyond this
value, cable damage will likely result. Maximum tension on the line during logging is found at the unit
(where the cable leaves the drum); minimum tension will be found at the cable head, right at the top
of the toolstring, at that point we’ll see the effective toolstring weight (tool weight in mud).
5/26/2011 75
Electrical
Cables conductors are fine, stranded copper wire, which is more flexible and less liable to break than
solid copper. Each wire has an extruded coating of insulating material, chosen for its stability under
well bore temperatures. Basic electrical design parameters are; electrical integrity (insulation and
continuity), conductor resistance, capacitance and inductance, these parameters are designed to
ensure power and signal can be transmitted effectively along the cable, with minimum losses and with
minimum signal degradation.
Note: in the field we rarely measure any electrical properties other than insulation (isolation) and
continuity, together with conductor resistance along the length of the cable. For multi conductor
cables a resistance of 10 Ohm/kft is typical and 3 Ohm/kft for monocables. Knowledge of the
conductor resistance gives a simple method of deducing cable length.
Note: cable conductors (including cable armor, which is often designated as ground) are used in
‘modes’. Transmission modes use specific conductor configurations for optimum signal and power
transmission, often over the same lines and at the same time.
Operational Issues
Real wells, of course, are not ideal; few are perfectly straight and many are intentionally deviated.
Friction or drag plays a significant role; particularly with tool strings that have caliper arms,
centralizers or standoffs, they also prevent the toolstring from rotating freely. Tension profiles running
in and pulling out of the hole are often very different and significant torque may be generated in the
cable. Extreme torque can, in some cases, twist even seemingly rigid, multi-conductor cables into
tight „curls‟. „Bird-caging‟ or opened armor strands are another result, with cables subjected to
excessive torques and tension changes.
Tension
(lb)
8000
7000
6000
Out Hole
Tension
5000
4000
3000
2000 In Hole
1000
0
25 24 23 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Length
(ft)
Cable manufacturer‟s wind or spool cable onto a drum with a particular „step‟ tension profile. One of
the reasons for this is; when high tension cable is spooled directly on top of low tension cable on the
drum, there is a tendency to crush the lower tension wraps. This is encountered mostly with deep
wells. A way to avoid this is to use a powered capstan, (pre-tensioning device) in front of the logging
unit.
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Note: The best approach to minimize cable damage is to run in and out of hole at ‘reasonable’
speeds, avoiding rapid tension swings, from ‘sitting down’ or ‘spudding’.
Note: In deep, deviated wells (e.g. 18000ft, 65deg), tension running in hole may be very low, possibly
less than 1000lb, since both the tool and the cable are lying on the side of the hole and friction is
opposing the motion of both. Pulling out of hole, friction now acts in the opposite direction. Tensions
will rise rapidly and may reach cable mechanical limits.
Cable diameter is a concern, particularly when working with pressure control equipment; where a
precise, close fit is required between the cable and flow tube or pack-off element. As the cable is
continually rubbing against casing, it will wear, and this close fit will eventually be lost, allowing well
fluids to escape past any seals. Wear also creates „flat‟ spots on the armor surface, reducing armor
wire cross-section, and making the armor susceptible to breakage. Broken armor wire creates
particular difficulties in cased-hole operations, where armor damage may not be immediately
apparent.
Inevitably cables do suffer damage, either through mishandling, becoming stuck, or from other well
conditions; where the cable has to be cut. It is possible to splice cable and remove damaged
sections. A splice is created over a long section (~50ft), with little if any difference in diameter from
the original cable and with much the same original mechanical strength. Armor wires are not welded,
they are shimmed together and each armor wire „join‟ is staggered along the length of the splice. For
this reason the spliced cable is susceptible to raised armor wires and not recommended for pressure
control work.
Wells with significant H2S or CO2 presence, affect cable mechanical strength, through corrosion and
embrittlement and may impact electrical insulation properties. Working in these hostile environments
may require special „exotic‟ alloy armors. Regardless of well fluid type, it is recommended to clean
and oil cables regularly, and treat with corrosion inhibitor, as cable is spooled onto the drum.
Cable status is recorded in order to track cable length and conditions to which the cable has been
exposed; well bore temperatures, tensions etc. Cables are frequently cut, for re-head purposes or to
remove damaged line, and a line or record book is the best way to keep track of the amount cut and
the remaining length.
5/26/2011 77
Weak-point Selection
There will inevitably be times when equipment becomes stuck downhole. In these circumstances it‟s
important to be able exert the maximum permitted tension, in order to either; pull free and continue
logging or to release from the tool during a fishing operation.
Getting stuck
We can get stuck in both open and cased-hole, and there are a number of reasons why this might
happen. It tends to be less likely in cased than open-hole since the tools and the cable are shielded
from the formation by casing (except where we have already perforated). These are some of the
reasons why we might get stuck.
In open-hole:
 Wellbore hydrostatic pressure is generally designed to exceed formation hydrostatic pressure

and there is a loss of fluid to the formation. As mud-cake (solids) accumulates against the
formation, this loss is largely eliminated. If the pressure differential described above is very
great, there is a tendency for logging tools or cable to become „differentially stuck‟ against
the borehole wall, as the mud-cake is wiped away during logging operations.
 In cases where the wellbore trajectory has severe „doglegs‟ pulling the wireline across these
sections can wear a groove. Where the groove becomes sufficiently deep, it may be possible
to become „key-seated‟. Under these conditions the wireline may be able to move downhole
and uphole, but the groove is not sufficiently wide for the cable head to pass.
 Unstable wellbores may simply collapse under the stresses that exist around the borehole, if
the collapse occurs above the cable head and tools the obstruction (bridge) may be large
enough to prevent pulling through. A similar situation can occur with some formations that
swell, often this is the case with shales, where the mud system is not correctly designed for
the type of formation.
Note: in many cases the likelihood of getting stuck is a combination of poor mud properties – either
not correctly designed for the formations being drilled or not maintained correctly during drilling. In the
examples described; mud weight, pH and chloride content have significant impact on the potential for
getting stuck both for wireline and drilling operations.
In cased hole:
 A common scenario in cased-hole involves re-entry into tubing. Strip guns and guns of similar
construction are often severely deformed after perforating and cannot always be pulled back
to surface through guide shoes at the end of tubing.
 Plugs and packers, if incorrectly configured (oil level) may partially set and not release
correctly.
 Opposite perforations which take significant fluid, there is a potential for differential sticking
similar to that in open hole.
 Post perforation, there may be sand and debris produced which can accumulate and prevent
retrieval of perforating guns.
5/26/2011 78
Once stuck the question is – how much can we pull? Prior to getting stuck we observe „normal
logging tension‟. The first indication of getting stuck, during logging, will of course be an increase
above this tension. Depending on what equipment we have, this indication may be from a surface
tension device or a downhole tension device, or a combination of both.
Normal logging tension observed at the surface is the sum of tool weight, wireline weight and friction;
it can be estimated before logging by hand calculation or modeled fairly closely by using a software
package (Cerberus, WPCalc). Downhole tension is measured at the cable head and allows us to see
exactly how much tension is being applied at the weak point.
Tension measurement
Surface tension measurement is achieved using a loadcell. The „flat‟ load cell is nothing more than a
strain gage incorporated in a bridge circuit, which outputs a signal proportional to the tension in the
wireline. The loadcell can be placed above the top sheave or attached to the securing chain on the
bottom sheave during rig-up. The signal is routed back to a surface panel for processing and display
via a long cable.
Note: open-hole rig-up often incorporated the load cell at the top sheave and cased-hole rig-up
placed the load cell at the bottom sheave. The benefit of utilizing the bottom sheave connection is
that the connecting cable can easily be replaced if it gets damaged during logging operations. Cable
damage is quite common, since the cable often runs across the catwalk and is easily crushed or cut.
Load cells are now incorporated at the measuring head (open-hole), this avoids having to use any
connecting cable from the rig floor to the unit. With this type of device, the cable passes over three in-
line wheels, the center wheel being fitted with the load cell.
Load cell placement affects the calibration factor applied to the measurement. Load cells are
calibrated across the range 0 – 3250lb, for placement at the upper sheave. Other configurations
require knowledge of the „fleet angle‟ (θ) in the following formula:
Calibration factor 3250
Cos
2
Downhole tension measurement is achieved by incorporating a load cell in either the cable head or
by including a separate Downhole tension device (DTD).
Weak points
A weak point or (more precisely) tension link is a device located at the cable head where a
controlled (and known) pull is able to separate the tools from the wireline cable. Standard (open-hole)
cablehead weak points are of solid construction, they come in a range of „nominal‟ breaking
strengths, from 3000 – 9000lb. They are secured in the cablehead and are actually designed to break
within a particular tension range. The fact that they do not break at the precise stamped tension value
is simply the result of manufacturing tolerances (construction and material properties).
The Releasable Wireline Cable Head (RWCH) is quite different; there is no weak point in the
traditional sense. The RWCH incorporates a solid metallic weak point which can be melted by
applying current from the surface, allowing the wireline to be pulled free from the toolstring.
Cased-hole weak points are different again; they are constructed by selecting a number of armor
wires when building the rope socket. The breaking strength in this case is essentially the breaking
strength of the armor wire multiplied by the number of wires used (with certain provisos).
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Ideal weak point
In order to make a weak point selection we have to take into consideration that the maximum tension
we can pull, this will be half the breaking strength of the wireline. If we pull anymore than this we risk
damaging a very expensive asset and potentially losing the wireline (if it breaks at surface – which is
highly likely) and even the well, since fishing wireline is problematic.
On this basis the following formula holds:

 50% wireline breaking strength (lb) > wireline weight in mud (lb) + ideal weak point rating (lb)
Re-arranging…
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < 50% wireline breaking strength (lb) – wireline weight in mud (lb))
We can get the wireline breaking strength from the manufacturers chart for the cable we are using.
What we need is wireline weight in mud; we can calculate it as follows:
CWIM CWIA CWIA CWIW mud

wtr
CWIM Cable weight in mud (lb/kft)

CWIA Cable weight in air (lb/kft)
CWIW Cable weight in water (lb/kft)
mud Mud density (lb/gal)
wtr Water density (lb/gal)
Again, some of these parameters we can obtain from the wireline manufacturers specifications. Mud
weight or density we can get from well information. We can then multiply CWIM by well depth (TD) in
order to calculate wireline weight in mud at TD.
Example:
Mud weight: 9 lb/gal
Cable weight in air: 341 lb/kft
Cable weight in water: 274 lb/kft
Cable breaking strength: 18000 lb
Well depth (TD): 16000 ft
Using the above equation:
CWIM 341 341 274 9

8.33
CWIM = 268.6 lb/kft
Note: CWIM shown here is /kft. Most of the following calculations require CWIM to be multiplied by
the length of wireline from the surface to the cable head; in other words, the total wireline weight in
the hole.
Then using:
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < 50% wireline breaking strength (lb) – wireline weight (lb in mud)
Re-arranging;
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < 0.5 x 18000 – 268.6 x 16 = 4702 lb
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This is the ideal weak point, from this value we select from the manufactured options. Remember
from above that the weak point breaking strength may fall anywhere within a minimum and maximum
range of tolerances. The weak point we select will be the one with a maximum less than 4702lb.
In this case we would choose a weak point stamped ‘4’ with a range of 3900lb – 4450lb
Note: it is interesting that with a conventional weak point the choice you make obviously determines
the weak point value for the whole well, from TD to the surface. At shallower depths you are
somewhat constrained by this choice – in other words it limits how much you can pull. One of the
advantages of the RWCH is that you can always pull to 50% of the cable breaking strength, no matter
where you are located in the well, without fear of breaking the weak point.
Maximum Safe Pull

When we get stuck at the bottom of a well, it is a good idea to pull to the maximum safe limit as soon
as possible. Conventional wisdom says the longer we stay in one place the more likely it is that we
will not get free. It is easily calculated as follows:
 Maximum Safe Pull (lb) = wireline weight in mud (lb) + 2/3(weak point minimum breaking
strength) (lb)
Wireline weight in mud will depend on where we are in the well, so generally we make this calculation
at several different depths, so we know what to pull at any time. Of course if we have a downhole
tension device we can see immediately what we are pulling at the weak point. The surface tension
will tell us what we are pulling on the wireline, so that we can keep below 50% of the wireline
breaking strength.
Deviated wells are more difficult, in those cases we will probably have to resort to some form of
software calculation for accurate values.
Minimum & Maximum pull-out tension
At some point during operations we may have to pull away from the toolstring. Usually this will be at
the end of a cut and thread fishing operation or (rarely) when we are requested to do this prior to
fishing.
The calculation is again quite simple and will depend on the depth of the toolstring in the hole, the
calculations are as follows:
 Minimum pull-out (lb) = wireline weight in mud (lb) + minimum weak point breaking strength
(lb)
 Maximum pull-out (lb) = wireline weight in mud (lb) + maximum weak point breaking strength
(lb)
5/26/2011 81
Cased-hole weak points
Cased-hole weak points are – as already mentioned, designed at the time of making the rope socket.
Armor wires are selected in a balanced (symmetrical) pattern from the cable inner and outer armor
strands. The weak point strength is the product of armor wire breaking strength multiplied by the
number of wires. The formula is the same as for an open-hole calculation:
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < 50% wireline breaking strength (lb) – wireline weight in mud (lb))
The only difference is that the ideal weak point is calculated from individual armor wire breaking
strengths.
Example:
Mud weight: 9 lb/gal
Cable weight in air: 334 lb/kft
Cable weight in water: 281 lb/kft
Cable breaking strength: 19500 lb
Well depth (TD): 16000 ft
Armor B.S. 764 lb
Using the above equation:
CWIM 334 334 281 9
8.33
CWIM = 276.7 lb/kft
Then using:
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < 50% wireline breaking strength (lb) – wireline weight (lb in mud)
Re-arranging;
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < 0.5 x 19500 – 276.7 x 16 = 5323 lb
When choosing the number of wires we apply a factor of 0.85 to the calculation:
 Ideal weak point rating (lb) < number of outer strands x Armor B.S. (lb) x 0.85
 Number of strands < 5323 / (764 x 0.85) = 8.2, so we choose 8 strands.
Note: the question is where to choose the armors from, since there are both inner and outer armor
layers. In this case both inner and outer are the same size (and breaking strength), so we choose 8
outer strands and 2 inner strands. The choice of 2 inner strands is preferred because they tend to
stabilize the rope socket and prevent rotation when pulling. Remember too, to choose the outer
stands in symmetrical fashion so that any pull is spread evenly around the rope socket.
Note: Alternative method for CWIM:
Cable weight in mud = Cable weight in air x Buoyancy factor

SGcable SGmud
Buoyancy factor
SGcable
Using this method you’ll need the specific gravity (SG) of the cable from the manufacturers chart for
the appropriate cable.
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Depth and Tension
Depth and Tension are fundamentally associated with all logging data. No job can take place without
accurate measurement of both parameters. A known depth is required to correctly place acquired
logging data. Tension is required to ensure that we can safely place tools in and remove tools from
the hole.
Tension
Accurate tension measurement is essential in order to correctly calculate stretch in the wireline.
Cable tension, is measured either from a loadcell attached to one of the sheave wheels, or from a
loadcell incorporated on the spooling head. Open-hole rig-up traditionally attached the load cell to the
top-sheave. Cased-hole rig-up frequently attached the loadcell to the bottom sheave. Although there
is some small difference in sensitivity associated with wireline fleeting angle, both configurations are
widely used. Incorporating a load cell on the spooling head is a more recent innovation, and has
several benefits, mostly a result of dispensing with the long load cell cable (often prone to error from
noise, electrical leakage, or simply being crushed or cut). One of the advantages of having a loadcell
attached to the bottom sheave is the ease with which a damaged loadcell cable can be replaced.
Depth
Wireline depth should closely match the depth measured by the driller; though the two will rarely be
identical, the differences, which are a function of well depth, are expected to be small if there are no
„errors‟ in the measurements. Two places where it would be advisable to compare driller‟s depth to
wireline depth are at the casing shoe and at „TD‟. Regardless of the difference, it is not advisable to
change wireline depth to match driller‟s depth, since there may be good reasons for such a
discrepancy to occur; expect to be asked for justification when the differences are unusually large.
Note: an explanation might include; incorrect pipe tally, incorrect pipe measurement by the drill crew.
Wheel slippage, elastic stretch compensation or permanent stretch may be factors in wireline depth
measurement.
Wireline is magnetically marked at 100ft intervals with a tension of 1000lb; this is the fundamental
depth measurement „reference‟. As wireline passes through the measuring head, it is gripped
between two spring loaded measure wheels, causing them to turn. The wheels are coupled via a
small flexible coupling to an optical encoder which delivers 1200 pulses/rev. Measure wheels have a
nominal 2ft circumference, so in an ideal world we would get 600 pulses/ft.
In practice the measuring wheel is not exactly 2ft in circumference and wireline tension will vary from
the surface to „TD‟ (total depth), in other words we have both „wheel error‟ and stretch present in our
depth measurement.
During Rig-up; surface tension is simply the result of toolstring weight in mud (effective tool weight).
Where the tension is less than 1000lb the wireline is technically in compression, and the distance
between magnetic marks less than 100ft. As the tool is run downhole, tension increases (sum of
buoyant - toolstring and cable weight) and the marks begin to spread apart as wireline tension
exceeds 1000lb.
Before running in hole the tool string is „zeroed‟. Frequently; since toolstrings are long, particularly
open-hole toolstrings, a zero is noted when the cable head is at the rotary table. Tool depth at this
„zero point‟ is the depth of the bottom of the toolstring below the rotary table.
Note: as we begin running in hole and cable passes through the measuring head, we will detect the
first mark. The mark is ‘flagged’ and run to the rotary table. This length measurement serves as a
5/26/2011 83
quality control reference in the event that the unit, traveling block or top drive moves during logging.
The measurement essentially tells us the distance from the spooling head to the rotary table,
following the path of the cable.
While running in hole, the „SDDP‟ (Stand-alone Depth and Display Panel) acquires encoder pulses
and converts/stores this information as „raw depth‟. Marks are detected (at approximately hundred
foot intervals), and the distance between marks calculated.
Recall that marks are placed on the wireline at 100ft intervals at 1000lb tension; any
increase/decrease in this separation is a result of stretch and wheel error. Stretch; calculated using
equation (1) (based on calculated tension, not loadcell tension), is used to correct the measured
distance between marks and yield a „corrected depth‟.
The SDDP, through equation (2) uses corrected and raw depths to determine calibration factors for
each measure wheel.
Before reaching TD, the winch should be stopped, and then the toolstring pulled up hole for a short
interval. The intention is to replace the calculated stretch correction with a „true‟ stretch correction,
based on loadcell tension. By doing this, drag can now be incorporated into the measurement.
Note: after updating to a ‘true’ stretch corrected depth, the system reverts to using calculated tension
in the stretch equation. Drag is incorporated into the stretch equation by modification to the effective
toolstring weight; effectively this adds a friction component.
As the cable head arrives at surface, following logging, it‟s recommended to note tool „zero‟ once
more, as a simple quality control check
Stretch
S 1 / 2 KL Tsurf Etw 2 (1)
Where:
S Stretch (ft)
K Cable stretch coefficient (ft/kft.klb)
L Cable length in hole (kft)
Tsurf Surface tension, from the loadcell or calculated (klb)
Etw Effective tool weight or tool weight in mud (klb)
Note: not surprisingly, the stretch equation looks a lot like Hooke’s Law applied to a simple
spring/mass system. The model is only slightly different because wireline has significant weight
distributed along throughout its length
Wheel calibration factor
Cd Rd
C fac 1000 (2)
Rd
Where:
C fac Cal factor
Rd Raw depth
Cd Corrected depth
5/26/2011 84
Winch Control & Vertical make-up
These procedures are common to most if not all logging jobs. Safety is the primary consideration and
knowledge of certain techniques can also make the job simpler and less prone to problems. The
following is a list of pointers that may not be immediately apparent and might help when first learning
these skills.
Winch control
Safe, successful winch control is a result of patience and observation. Not unlike the skills required
for driving a car. Winch control panels and their associated controls are relatively simple, however,
like most vehicles; controls vary in both types (from unit to unit or truck to truck) and also to some
extent responsiveness – how smooth or „sticky‟ they are and how quickly they respond. The key is to
start slowly until you get a „feel‟ for the unit, regardless of demands from others at the wellsite.
Most units have few controls, yours may have:
 Brake; a push button on the console is used to halt the drum, once the throttle lever is in the
center neutral position.
 Throttle; a simple forward/backward lever to control downhole and uphole motion

respectively. Amount of lever displacement controls the speed. This is usually supplemented
with a fine/coarse control switch. Lever has a „center‟ position which should be the „rest‟
position‟, where the drum doesn‟t move. In practice it may not bring the unit completely to
rest and the drum may have a tendency to creep, particularly if there is tension on the line.
 Spooling arm control; enables you to spool cable neatly across the drum. It also has a
central „neutral position‟. With the drum correctly aligned, cable should leave the center of the
drum and follow a straight-line to the wellhead.
 Mooring valve or Bypass valve; most winch drums are driven hydraulically, older drums
used chain drives. By carefully „backing off‟ this valve the drum can be stopped. Incrementing
by a turn or so starts the drum rolling. The idea is that under these conditions the drum can
easily be stopped by a small tension increase. Tightening the valve down fully ensures the
drum will not stop under tension, it will continue to pull until something breaks! The skill with
this valve is to tighten it just enough to avoid breaking anything but enough to ensure you can
support normal weight.
 Dump valve/lever; some units may have a lever that allows hydraulic pressure to be
„dumped‟. This is usually released or dumped after the drum is stopped and the brake set.
 Pressure gage; hydraulic pressure can be read from the console gage. It is useful to have
an idea of „normal‟ hydraulic pressure under no load and load conditions, any changes may
reflect obstruction, particularly related to hydraulic filters, which need to be changed.
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Vertical make-up
With short tool strings, it is possible to connect the cable head and pick up these strings in a single
lift. This is true with some open-hole strings and many toolstrings in cased-hole, where strings tend to
be light and short. Care is needed where strings are flexible and may be damaged by excessive
bending forces. Longer, heavier strings are usually picked up in several sections and „made-up‟
vertically over the hole from bottom to top. Open-hole toolstring lengths frequently exceed the
distance from the rig floor to the top sheave, so there is no choice other than to make-up the
toolstring vertically and to „zero the tool at the cable-head.
Horizontal tool make-up

Horizontal make-up is often required for pre-job and post-job string checks. In some cases tools are
made-up „hard‟ in other cases it is permissible to connect tools using cables or jumpers. Making-up
hard is difficult on uneven surfaces and requires some element of careful balancing, in order to get
the tools to align properly with the least amount of effort.
Rigging up/down tips
 You get one chance to spot the truck/unit. Once you are rigged up and in the hole, it‟s usually
too late to correct truck position. You may be able to re-arrange sheave wheel orientation and
even placement, but that too is fraught with potential problems. So the key is – get the truck
spotted right the first time, it makes the rest of the job so much easier.
 Space restrictions mean you may have little choice where to place the truck; this is also very
true with units on small offshore rigs and platforms. One option may be to include an extra
sheave wheel in the rig up; if this helps you get better/safer access to the wellhead.
 Once spotted, the wireline will have to be rolled off the drum. If you haven‟t already, then
have a quick meeting and agree on a set of standard signals and if you have one, use a
loudspeaker system. Acknowledge only one designated person to give commands from
outside the truck.
 Be sure to have your tension device calibrated and set your depth to something meaningful
before starting, (or at the very least make a mental note of the odometer setting, so you know
how much line you are paying out.
 Roll the line off slowly - this is a „perfect‟ time to have a major backlash issue, so only move
the drum when there‟s someone pulling the line off, providing some tension, also get into the
habit of „hitting‟ the brake when you stop the winch, that way you‟ll avoid any „drum creep‟
when you have a toolstring on the other end.
Note: backlash is the situation where you attempt to spool line off the drum but no one is there to help
pull the line off. The drum rotates and the line slackens, eventually loosening and unwinding on the
drum. If caught in time a few wraps is manageable and can be recovered. A whole layer or more is
very serious and can stall the job for many hours, while the line is cut and discarded. At the end of
this you will be faced with re-heading the line. If you do get into a backlash incident; tape the drum
circumference, where the cable is still tight with a few wraps of duct-tape, this will prevent the
backlash progressing beyond that point, then see if you can slowly unravel the line, if not it may have
to be cut.
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 The next step is to get the upper sheave into the derrick; there are two ways to do this. In
both cases apart from the danger of someone getting caught in the line as it moves, there‟s
the possibility of the line becoming snagged and kinked. This is especially true with small
monocable lines, which tend to „loop up‟ easily. Watch for sand and debris on the ground, if
you are running cased-hole services, it easily adheres to oily cable and may clog flow tubes
and pack-off equipment.
o Lay enough line down on the ground, so that the upper sheave can be hoisted
without moving the winch. The benefit here is that the winch man doesn‟t need to
coordinate with the driller. Someone on the catwalk and at the rig flow can oversee
the cable movement as the sheave rises into the derrick.
o As the sheave is pulled into the air follow its progress from the winch by paying out
line from the drum. This technique is probably faster, but requires good visibility,
coordination and signaling from the rig floor, and must be done slowly.
 Many open hole toolstrings and a good few cased hole toolstrings are made up vertically as
described earlier; essentially this means picking up the tool that goes at the bottom of the
string, placing it in the „C‟ plate, then picking up the next tool in the string and making the two
together, gradually working your way up the tool string, till finally you place the head on the
string.
o Don‟t move the winch until your designated person at the rig floor gives you the „go
ahead‟.
o Pick each tool up carefully; if it‟s heavy it may be hard to control at the rig floor,
especially as it lifts over the top of the „V‟ door and swings towards the well.
o Watch the tension and depth to see if they are reading correctly.
o Stop tools at shoulder height, so the operators can remove the end caps without
unnecessary bending/ crouching, lower the tools slowly.
o Don‟t over-slacken the line, tools tend to go together better when there‟s some
„residual‟ tension on the line.
o Pick up tension on the line carefully, especially when you have the full string weight.
o When the opportunity arises, search for the best setting on the mooring valve. This
setting will vary depending on the weight of the tool string and may need to be
adjusted several times during the job, at surface and down-hole.
 Once the toolstring is „made up‟,
o Check zero and tension once more, are they good?

o Do you have a well diagram, with TD, casing shoe, dogleg and deviation profile?
o Are there any sub surface valves that are closed, and need opening?
o Check number of wraps on the drum and start a „Z‟ chart, so you know where you
are.
o Start in hole.
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Running in hole (RIH)/ logging/pulling out of hole (POOH)
 RIH you have two key indicators; depth and tension. Compare depth with your well diagram
and anticipate where you‟ll have to slow down. Approaching a deviated section of the well,
you begin to lose tension. Entering open hole, at the casing shoe, you should be cautious,
since this is a place where it‟s not unusual to find washouts, „mud balls‟, „cave-ins‟ or
damaged casing. As you progress into open hole, you may encounter „bridges‟, ledges and
other obstacles to your progress into the hole.
 As you stop to log sections or find you way through obstacles, try to ensure that direction
changes with the winch are brisk and smooth, not abrupt and „heavy handed‟.
 Try to keep the winch moving where possible. There is always the potential to get stuck.
Inevitably there will be instances where you need to stop – at TD for example, but a quick
turn-around is preferable and seconds often count. The procedure would probably be:
o Slow down as you approach TD
o Watch the tension as it falls away on touching bottom; give 10-15 ft of slack as you
start logging/open the caliper.
o Log up as the caliper opens, watch tension/spooling and beware of maximum pull
limits.
 When pulling out of the hole, watch tension, spooling and tool speed, in that order. Above all,
you don‟t want to part the weak point unintentionally (and certainly you don‟t want to part the
cable, under any circumstances!). Spooling is also critical, because once a caliper is open, it
is not possible to go down-hole and correct problems until the caliper is closed. In addition,
you may experience significant overpull coming off the bottom of the hole, so there will be
understandable reluctance in touching „TD‟ a second time. Tool speed is important, because
data quality depends on maintaining a steady speed in the specified range.
Note: overpull is the amount of tension that exceeds normal logging tension.
 If you get stuck on the way out of the hole, actions taken will depend on the type of cable
head and weak-point you have. Releasable cable heads allow pulling directly to 50% the
minimum cable breaking strength. With conventional weak-points, it‟s advisable to pull
rd
immediately to the accepted weak-point limit (usually 2/3 the weak-point minimum breaking
strength), hold there and wait to see if the tool comes free, before deciding how to proceed.
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Basic Cased Hole
Cased hole services can be subdivided into 3 categories: Evaluation, Completion, and Monitoring.
Evaluation
Casing Collar Locators
The basic tool used for depth control is the casing collar locator (CCL). It operates on basic induction
principles utilizing fixed magnets and a coil of wire to measure changes in metal thickness. The CCL
require no power to operate making it ideal for operations involving electrical detonators.
Gamma Perforators
Customers may opt to run a Gamma-Perforator when either when a CCL log to tie into is not
available or depth control may be compromised for some other factor. The Gamma- Perforator Large
Tool (GPLT) is typically operated utilizing negative DC voltage along with a series of diodes to
prevent current from flowing through the tool the perforating gun until desired. It allows correlation
utilizing a gamma ray measurement to compare to open hole logs.
Cement Bond Logging

Sonic tools are used to determine the competency of cement bond to the casing and to the formation.
Standard frequency (audible) tools function similarly. They emit an audible acoustic pulse which
travels through the borehole fluid and into the casing. They cause the casing to vibrate and receivers
pick up the sound of the “ringing” casing. Much like ringing a bell, if you place your hands on the bell,
the sound becomes muffled. Cement on casing functions in much the same way. The tighter the bond
of the cement, the more muffled (the lower the amplitude) the sound. So we measure the amplitude of
the casing arrival and relate that to cement bond. It should be noted that cement compressive
strength has a large impact of the amount of attenuation.
Standard cement bond tools utilize omni-directional transmitters and receivers and therefore average
the signal coming in from around the casing. This makes evaluation of channels more difficult. Radial
Cement Bond Log Tools (RCBL) utilize an omni-directional transmitter but sectored (directional)
receivers. This allows us to monitor different directions of the casing signal returning to the receivers
hence allowing us to “see” channels behind the casing.
Our Ultra-sonic tool, the CAST, utilizes a single transceiver which acts as both a transmitter and
receiver. It functions much like underwater sonar and is highly directional. By placing this transceiver
on a rotating head, we can measure specific portions of the casing for both cement bond and casing
thickness. Because of the frequency (around 350 kHz) and design of the CAST, it only relays
information concerning the cement to casing bond and so it is recommended to run it along with a
standard bond tool to evaluate cement to formation bond.
Gamma Ray
Standard gamma tools can be run in any well-bore environment and are an excellent log for
correlation between open hole and cased hole. In addition to standard natural gamma tools, we also
have a spectral gamma tool which measures the actual energy of the gamma rays striking the tool.
The Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma Tool (CSNG) allows us to separate the energy levels of
the gamma rays being emitted by the formation. This allows the identification of the source of the
gamma ray and indicates the actual individual amounts of Potassium, Uranium, and Thorium present.
This is helpful in determining the type of clay which may present in the rock sometimes referred to as
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“Clay Typing”. Different clays respond differently to exposure to fresh water which often used in
completion and stimulation of the wells. So knowing the type of clay will give the reservoir engineer
important information for designing the completion of the well.
Neutron
The standard neutron tool is relatively unaffected by the steel sheath in a cased hole and so allows a
cased hole measurement of porosity similar to that generated in open-hole. This can be used for
formation evaluation as well as correlation. For an accurate porosity measurement, corrections must
be applied for the casing, the size of the borehole (the size, thickness, and ID of the casing should be
known).In addition, we must correct for the size of the original open-hole borehole which is much
more difficult to accomplish.
Tracerscan
A Spectral Gamma Tool can be utilized to detect various radioactive isotopes which can be placed
with fracturing fluids during a stimulation job. ProTechnics specializes in the addition of these
isotopes and also have the slim-hole version of our CSNG which they can use to determine where
these isotopes went during the fracturing job. Remember that a gamma ray can only travel a limited
distance in rock and so the maximum distance from the borehole the tracer can be detected is around
2 feet. This is still useful in determining the height of the fracture propagation during a job. The
isotopes have short half-lives to reduce environmental risks, but this determines the urgency to
complete the Tracerscan log. Common isotopes used are Scandium, Iridium, and Antimony all which
have half-lives in the 2 – 3 month range. Iodine is 8 days and Gold is 3 days.
Pulsed Neutron Tools

The unique interactions of a neutron with matter allow determination of various properties in cased
hole. The heart of our pulsed neutron tools is an electrical powered neutron generator. This means
that the tool is only emitting neutrons when the generator is turned on. This reduces unnecessary
exposure to neutrons. The generator utilizes ionized deuterium which is accelerated by using a high
voltage potential toward a tritium target. When the deuterium strikes the tritium, a high energy (14
MeV) neutron is generated. The generator can be pulsed at various frequencies. The frequency the
generator is pulsed is determined by the type of neutron interactions which are to be measured. The
neutrons exit the tool and start to interact with the material in the borehole and the formation. We
actually measure gamma rays which result from this interaction. There are different types of gamma
rays from neutron interactions normally exhibited.
When a high energy neutron interacts with matter, it transfers some of its energy to the nucleus of the
atom it strikes. The atom will then release some of this excess energy by emitting a gamma ray.
These are known as “inelastic scatter gamma rays” and will have a specific energy related to the
atom struck. As the neutrons continue to interact with matter, they continue to lose energy and
eventually reach the thermal level (0.025 eV) at which time they can be captured. The neutron is
absorbed by the nucleus of an atom and a new isotope is formed. Excess energy is released by
emitting a “capture gamma ray” whose energy is related to the element which captured the neutron.
TMDL (Thermal Multi-gate Decay Lithology Tool)

The TMD measures the capture gamma rays from the borehole, the formation, and the fluids
contained therein. Because it takes time for the neutron to lose enough energy to be captured, the
tool pulses the generator at a lower frequency (800Hz) to give the detectors enough time to measure
the capture gamma rays. The tool generates the values for both the borehole and the formation
capture cross-sections. The element with the largest capture cross-section found in the well will
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typically be Chlorine. Since most reservoirs tend to contain salt water which contains chlorine, the tool
uses this interaction to determine the hydrocarbon saturation of the reservoir. If the porosity of the
formation and the salinity of the formation fluids is known, we can calculate how much chlorine should
be present. We compare that to the amount of chlorine actually detected by the tool. The difference in
the amount of chlorine would be related to the saturation of the pore space with salt-
water/hydrocarbon. The chlorine in the borehole must also be accounted for in order to know how
many of the chlorine capture gamma rays were from the formation.
The TMD uses 2 Sodium Iodide detectors for detecting the gammas. Because it is a radioactive tool,
it is affected by count rates. Therefore logging speed must be relatively slow in order to gather
enough counts to obtain repeatable measurements. The statistical nature of the tool limits using the
tool in fresh water formations or formations with low porosity.
PSGT (Pulsed Spectral Gamma Tool)

The PSGT measures inelastic scatter gamma rays from the elements the high energy neutrons
were interacting with. Because these interactions occur early in the life of the neutron, the generator
will be pulsed at a much higher frequency (10 kHz) to increase the number of the interactions which
occur. By measuring the energy level of the gamma rays entering the tool, an estimation of the
amount of carbon and oxygen can be made which is related to the hydrocarbon saturation. It can also
measure the amount of Silica versus Calcium which helps with the determination of lithology since
sandstone is composed of Silica and limestone is composed of Calcium Carbonate. The PSGT uses
a Bismuth Germanate detector to increase efficiency.
Reservoir Monitoring Tool (RMT)

The RMT is a hybrid of the TMD and PSGT. It utilizes a switchable neutron generator to adjust the
pulse frequency depending on whether inelastic scatter mode or capture mode is desired. In this way
the RMT can function either as a PSGT or a TMDL depending on the formation properties. It contains
2 BGO detectors
Spectraflow (SpFL)
The SpFL measures water movement inside or outside the casing by measuring the amount of
activated oxygen in water irradiated by our neutron generator. Activated oxygen emits a 6.13 Mev
gamma ray and has a half-life of 7.13 seconds. By comparing the quanitity of these gamma rays
being detected at two different spacings from the generator, we can determine the rate the water
outside the tool must be flowing. The SpFl uses Sodium Iodide detectors.
Completions
Most of the cased hole services which fall under the category of completion are referred to as
mechanical services. These would include setting plugs and packers and perforating pipe.
Packers and Plugs

Packers and plugs are typically set either using mechanical manipulation or via hydraulic pressures
applied downhole. Setting various types of plugs via wireline is normally accomplished utilizing a
Baker setting tool, a Shorty Setting tool, or a Downhole Power Unit (DPU).
A Gauge Ring and Junk Basket should run into the hole prior to running a permanent packer into the
well to insure the packer will pass through the tubulars without a problem. Permanent packers often
have sand or cement dumped on top of them to increase their long term effectiveness as the
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elastomers may degrade over time. This is done using a Dump Bailer into which cement or sand is
poured and then released by breaking a glass disc placed on the bottom of the bailer.
Bridge Plug Packer Frac Plug Retainer Junk Basket Baker Setting Tool
The basic components of packers or plugs are similar. They have a mandrel, which is the “core” of
the plug or packer upon which the other parts are mounted. They have slips, which typically use a
wedge and serrated teeth to “bite” into the tubular they are inside of. The slips prevent the plug or
packer from moving up and/or down inside the tubular. They have an element which is usually an
elastomeric ring which expands and actually makes the pressure seal between the mandrel and the
tubular.
There are permanent and retrievable plugs and packers. A retrievable mandrel is designed to allow
the release of the slips and element through some type of manipulation of the mandrel. This leads to
a more complicated design and therefore are more costly. The advantage is they can be moved or
removed whenever desired and the mandrel re-used. The RTTS (Retrievable, Test, Treat, & Squeeze
packer is an example. A permanent mandrel on the other hand is a one set only operation. Once a
permanent mandrel has been set, it must be drilled out to remove it. Permanent mandrels are usually
made of easily drillable materials like cast iron or composite materials.
RTTS Packer
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The primary difference between a packer and a plug is the presence of an annulus between the
tubing and casing. A packer isolates this annulus from the area inside the tubing and the area below
the packer. This facilitates isolation of the casing from deleterious pressures and fluids. The purpose
of plug is to isolate the area inside the tubular above the plug from the area below the plug. The
mandrel used for a bridge plug prevents fluid from flowing through the plug. Frac Plugs utilize a one
way ball valve which prevents fluid from flowing down through the plug but allows flow up through the
plug. A Cement Retainer also utilizes a one way dart or flapper valve to allow fluid to flow down
through the plug but prevents fluid from flowing upward through the plug.
Perforating
Once the steel casing is cemented into the wellbore, it becomes necessary to re-establish
communication between the inside of the casing with the formation. This is typically accomplished
utilizing jet perforating charges. These charge work similar to the World War II army bazooka used as
anti-tank weapons. An explosive is detonated which generates a large pressure wave which forces a
shaped liner to penetrate the steel casing, the cement, and the formation. The design of the liner
shape and materials used along with the explosives used affects the size of the hole generated and
the depth of penetration of the perforation.
There are 4 basic components in the construction of a perforating gun. Some type of carrier for the
explosives to be transported on, the shaped charges, the detonating cord, and the detonator. We
electrically actuate either resistorized detonators or a RED (Rig Environment Detonator) to reduce the
chance of an accidental detonation. The detonator is connected to the detonating cord which
generates the shock wave necessary to set off the shaped charges.
The type and design of the gun used is normally based on Total Target Penetration (TTP), Entry Hole
Diameter (EHD), and gun clearances required as well as price. The Shot density or Shots per Foot
(SPF) is the number of jet charges in one foot of gun. The Phasing of the jet charges represents the
angle between consecutive charges and is also a consideration.
Perforating with a lower hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore than the formation pressure is called
underbalanced perforating. This can help clean up the damage to the formation caused by the jet
charge “pushing the rock aside. The pictures below compare the resulting perforation tunnel formed
by a significant under-balanced perforating job versus a balanced one. Unfortunately this is not a
good option with wireline. Overbalanced perforating is the norm and Extreme overbalanced
perforating utilizing the Stim Gun allows mini-fractures to be generated to by-pass the damage.
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Port Plug Guns use a hollow steel carrier into which holes (“ports”) have been machined. With
the open holes it is fairly easy to insert and align the shaped charges into the gun. Port Plugs
along with a rubber seal are screwed into the holes after the charges are loaded to seal out the
borehole fluids. In a port plug guns the charges, the detonating cord and the detonator are all
isolated from the borehole fluids. So no special waterproofing is required. The debris left after
the charges are detonated remains inside the gun and is removed with the gun. The guns can
be cleaned and reused. Primary disadvantages are initial price and the number of potential fluid
leaks because each port plug must seal effectively to prevent flooding of the gun.
Scallop Guns use a hollow steel carrier (HSC) but only small indentations (“scallops”) are placed
on the gun at the area where the jet charge will exit the gun. The purpose of the scallop is to
reduce the impact of the extrusion of the gun (“burr”) which is normally generated when the
charge liner jets out of the steel. The charges are loaded into an internal carrier which slides
inside the HSC. Alignment is critical so the charges line up with the scallops. The advantages of
the scallop gun are the same as the port plug with the exception that they are NOT reusable.
There are only 2 pressure seals per gun; top and bottom so chance of gun leakage is reduced.
Slickwall Guns are just a scallop gun without the scallops. They are cheaper since no
machining of the scallops is required. Cardboard or foam inserts are used to load the charges
inside the gun. Same advantages as the scallop gun.
Bi-Wire Guns use 2 steel wires which are clamped on either side of a specially designed
charge. Because of this design, these guns are very flexible. Larger charges can be used since
there is no carrier to reduce the space available. The charges, the detonating cord, and the
detonator are all exposed to the wellbore fluids so special design is required. The debris is left in
the well following perforating. The wire is not reusable.
Strip Guns use aluminum strips to hold the charges. There are easier to load than the bi-wire
guns but not quite as flexible. They have the same advantages and disadvantages as the bi-
wire guns.
Free-Point and Back-off

Drill pipe and tubing sometimes get stuck in the well. For various reasons, the customer may want to
remove the free portion of the tubular. These tubular goods have a known stretch coefficient much
like our wireline but the actual stuck point is much harder to determine just using the stretch. A Free-
point tool is normally used to determine the location of the stuck point. It consists of 2 sections which
are held together by sensors which measure vertical movement or rotation of one section versus the
other. By placing this sensor section opposite the stuck point while applying stretch or torque to the
tubular we can see the movement. We only see this response when the sensor is placed opposite the
stuck point. This could require many multiple placements (“stations”) of the tool until we find the stuck
point.
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The Halliburton Free-Point Tool uses a magnet to magnetize the tubular while running in the hole.
Torque or stretch is then placed on the tubular and the area where the pipe stretches or twists (the
free pipe) and loses its magnetism. The tool is then logged out of the hole and measure the change in
magnetism when it moves from the stuck pipe into the free pipe. This is much faster and does not
require multiple stations greatly reducing the opportunity for tubular failure from placing multiple
stretches or torque on the pipe.
Once the Free-point is found, we can either cut the tubular using a jet cutter, a chemical cutter, or a
radial cutting torch. We might also opt to “back-off‟ the tubular at a joint connection. Left-hand torque
is placed on the tubular and a back-off bar wrapped with detonating cord is placed opposite the
connection and detonated. The sudden impact along with torque hopefully unscrews the tubular at
that point in the well.
Monitoring
Monitoring the well usually involves measuring the production of the well, or looking for changes in
the production or the tubular during the life of the well.
Casing and tubing corrosion can impact the isolation of zones during production. Salt Water and other
corrosive fluids can cause damage to the tubular goods. Mechanical, Acoustic, and Induction tools
are commonly run to determine the metal thickness of the tubulars. In the event a hole is present, the
location must be verified. This can be done using a radioactive tracer pumped into the well and then
traced using a gamma ray tool. There are also production logging tools which could be run to locate
it. Both methods requiring either producing or pumping fluid on the well. Cement or sealant could be
squeezed into the hole using a packer or a liner patch could be placed in the casing. A liner patch is a
corrugated piece of casing with resin coating the outside which will fit inside the casing in question.
Once in place, it is expanded to cover the hole.
Production Logging tools measure temperature, pressures, fluid flow, sound, fluid capacitance, fluid
density. We can use these measurements to determine the quantity and type of fluid being produced
at different zones in the well. Fluid flow within a wellbore can be extremely complex so the
development of “array” tools have allowed more insight to flow of fluid within the horizontal cross-
section of the wellbore. Utilizing Pulsed Neutron Tools can greatly increase information concerning
changes in the reservoir over the life of the well.
Workover Units
Once the drilling rig has completed drilling the well and casing has been cemented in place, it is
normally moved off the well to drill another one. A Workover Unit will be placed over well to
accommodate the running of the tubing and other completion hardware. These workover units are
much like smaller versions of drilling rigs but don‟t normally have a built in rotary and circulation
systems.
Workover rigs are typically truck-mounted and utilize guy wires to stabilize the mast. Normally, the
deeper the well, the bigger the rig required to handle the completion equipment being run. These rigs
have a monkey board similar to a drilling rig to rack back tubing as it is pulled from the well but also
include a rod hanger to place sucker rods pulled from a beam pump or progressive cavity pump.
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Basic Wellhead Pressure Control
Open & cased-hole services often require the use of pressure control equipment. Less frequently in
open hole; where we are mostly concerned with taking a „kick‟ during logging. Cased-hole pressure
control is the „norm‟ after perforating, where we are exposed to transient or stable formation
pressures.
Note: a kick is a sudden uncontrolled release of fluid (liquid or gas) at surface sometimes
encountered during open-hole operations, often drilling. A kick is usually momentary, allowing actions
to be taken to reduce the likelihood of more kicks. A blowout is a sudden uncontrolled release that is
much more problematic, it is often long duration, difficult to bring under control and the resulting
consequences can be catastrophic.
Pressure
Any time wellbore hydrostatic pressure is less than formation pressure,
we experience pressure at the surface which needs to be controlled.
This arises in open hole when mud weight (density) is not maintained
sufficiently high to counteract formation pressure. Liquids and/or gas
may be produced at surface under such conditions. After perforating in
cased hole, natural formation „drive‟ (pressure) may be sufficient to
drive fluids to the surface against wellbore hydrostatic. The same may
be true after fracturing or following formation treatment, e.g. nitrogen
injection.
For open-hole we are generally concerned with the installation of a

Wireline Valve, Riser Pipe (Lubricator) and a Packoff, to enable us
to retrieve the open-hole toolstring in the event of a pressure build-up.
In open-hole the well is usually „static‟ (without pressure) before we log,
though evidence of gas increases during drilling may be indicative of
potential well control problems while logging.
Most of what follows relates to cased-hole services where „full‟ WHPC is

required in order to enter and exit a well under pressure. Pressure may
be present in cased-hole at the beginning of the job, where the well has
already been perforated and can range anywhere from a few psi to 10
or 15000psi or more. In some instances; where the well hasn‟t been
perforated you may see sudden transient pressure increases after
perforation where the well is perforated in an under-balanced
condition.
WHPC Hardware
In the US WHPC equipment is not always owned by Halliburton, it is rented from local equipment
rental companies. The advantage is that the rental company will take care of preparation, including:
pressure certification, cleaning and inventory, in some instances the company will come to location
and assist with operation of their equipment. Other Halliburton locations own their own equipment.
Much of the equipment we use in the field is manufactured by Elmar and Bowen.
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WHPC refers to pressure control hardware installed above the client BOP. In the field there are two
possible options to connect or adapt to the client wellhead – using either a bolted flange, or a
threaded connection. The critical issue is to have the right connection available when you arrive at
the wellsite – many jobs trip up at this first hurdle!
On top of the adaptor, WHPC equipment will probably consist of, top to bottom:
 Wireline Valve – the Wireline Valve is a pair of

rams which can be closed around the
wireline, forming a seal above and below
the rams and isolating well pressure from
the surface. They can be closed at speed
using pressure and manually through
handles on the side. The wireline is
expected to remain stationary in the closed
rams, in order to maintain an effective seal
 Tool Trap – is a „gate‟

which falls shut as the tool
passes, preventing the tool
from dropping downhole, in
the event of breaking the
weak point as the toolstring
reaches the top of the
lubricator.
 Lubricator sections – these are sections of pipe, the lengths of which need to be long
enough and of a sufficient diameter to contain the entire tool string to be run in hole. They
will; like all WHPC equipment – be rated for a particular pressure and identified for special
application e.g. sour gas use (H2S).
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Tool Catcher – this component snaps shut on the top of the cable head
(stinger) as the tool passes, preventing the tool from dropping downhole, in the
event of breaking the weak point as the toolstring reaches the top of the
lubricator.
 Check valve – if the wireline parts from the toolstring, it

may be blown through the pressure control equipment;
this component contains a ball which lodges in place
preventing well pressure from escaping after the wireline
exits.
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 Grease Injection head – the grease injection head comprises a series of close fitting tubes
which are sized for the diameter of the wireline. Grease is injected in the small annular gap
between the tube and the wireline forming a seal while running in and out of the hole.
 Stuffing box or Pack-off – refer to components that provide limited pressure control on a
stationary wireline.
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 Line wiper – is similar to the pack-off described above but allows the wireline to move while
wiping away some of the entrained grease and well fluids.
Operational procedures
Preparation
There are many rules of thumb to determine how easy it will be to run into a well under pressure. The
best method is a simple calculation – how much weight do I need to have in order to counteract
wellhead pressure?
Example:
Wellhead pressure 9000psi

Cable diameter 5/16”
Cable „weight‟ 188lb/kft (in air)
Cable specific gravity 6.32
Breaking strength 11600lb
Well fluid Brine @ 9lb/gal (SG 1.08)
Tool string:
Head/CCL 15lb, 3ft long
Weight bars 185lb, 5ft long
Setting tool and crossover 200lb, 10ft long
Packer + tailpipe 700lb, 15ft long
Lubricator sections 8ft long
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Set at 10000ft
How many weight bars and how much lubricator?
Total cable area D2 = 0.077 in

2
4
Total upward force = 0.077 x 9000 = 690lb
Total tool weight (no weight bars) = 15 + 700 + 200 = 915lb
This is quite a lot higher than the upward force due to wellhead pressure, added to this will be wireline
weight at 10000ft in brine:
Cable weight in Brine = Cable weight in air x Buoyancy factor
SGcable SGmud
Buoyancy factor = 0.829
SGcable
Cable weight in Brine = 0.829 x 188 = 156lb/kft
Total cable weight at 10000ft = 1560lb
Something to consider is; after we set the packer the toolstring weight will be reduced to:
915lb – 700lb = 215lb, with wireline weight at 10000ft we‟ll have 215 + 1560lb = 1775lb. Still high
enough to prevent us blown from the hole! As we approach the surface wireline weight will of course
decrease, so at surface we‟ll have only the 215lb on the end of the line.
Force upwards at surface = 690 – 215 = 475lb, so we might consider using: 475/185 weight bars =
2.6, so 3 weight bars might be in order!
Total length of toolstring plus 3 weight bars = 3 + 15 + 10 + 15ft = 38ft. from this we can estimate the
number of lubricator sections we‟ll need at least 5 sections and have 2ft to spare.
Arriving on location:
 Check the pressure on the well

 Check that the master valves, crown valve and wing valves are fully open, then close each
valve
 Count and note the turns required to open and close each valve
 Bleed pressure from the top flange and nipple up (connect) Halliburton equipment to the well
head
 Rig up, fill & pressure test the lubricator at the recommended test pressure. Have the tool in
the tool catcher at this point and bring up the pressure slowly (through a pump-in sub).
 Bleed off test pressure from the lubricator (could leave it on if the well is under pressure, as it
makes opening the master valve easier – no differential.
 Open the crown valve
 Bleed well pressure through the master valve to equalize pressure in the lubricator
 Be sure to note:
o Cable wraps on the drum
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o Create a „Z‟ chart
o Mark/flag the line
 Run in hole
During logging:
 Loss of the grease seal during logging

 Freeze-up of well fluids or formation of hydrates inside WHPC equipment
 Stranded cable inside WHPC
Rigging down:
 Pull out of hole;

o Adjust „mooring‟ valve (winch hydraulic control valve)
o Observe depth warning via cable wraps, marked/flagged line
o „Feel‟ the head cautiously into the tool catcher and note the tool trap closure
 Close the master valve
 Bleed pressure from the lubricator through the pump-in sub
 Breakout the lubricator/toolstring.
References
HMS procedures on the WPS portal
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Slickline
Slickline is a method for performing functions in the wellbore while containing the wellbore pressures.
Some functions are, installing and retrieving plugs, bailing sand, mechanically removing scale and
other deposits inside tubing, recording bottom hole pressures, and changing out gas lift valves. It is a
single strand of wire so it is easier to seal the wellbore fluids and pressures. It is smaller diameter so
less weight is required to run it in to a live well.
Composition
It is commonly composed of API-9A Bright Improved Plow Steel (Carbon Steel) with other alloys also
available. Slickline varies in size from 0.072” diameter with 961# breaking strength up to 0.125”
diameter slickline with 2794# breaking strength. Since there is only a single armor, it is critical to
monitor the slickline for any imperfections. This can be done utilizing magnetic flux leakage detection.
Imperfections on the slickline will cause a disturbance in the magnetic field being put into the slickline.
This change is detected and can be recorded for the depth. (physics are similar to those used in a
CCL) Sometimes braided line is used on slickline units when higher breaking strengths are required
(like fishing operations).
Pressure Control
For pressure control it is similar to that used for wireline. The common components for slickline
pressure control are:
Stuffing box
Packing nut
Grease injector/grease head
Riser
Pump-in sub
Wireline valve
When slickline or wireline is run into a well under pressure, it may be necessary to add additional
weight to overcome the force of the pressure trying to push the tool out of the hole. Because of its
smaller size, less weight bar is required. The force is a simple calculation utilizing the pressure on the
well and the cross-sectional area of the slickline. For 0.072” diameter wireline being run into a well
with 10,000 psi pressure on it, we would require 41# of weight to overcome the force of the pressure.
2
This does not include frictional forces. (0.072“) / 4) * π * 10,000 psi = 40.71#
The common slickline string is composed of a cable head, weight bar (stem), a mechanical link (jar),
a knuckle joint, and various service tools. The jar allows the service tool to be jarred up and pounded
down to allow it to move through narrowed portions of the tubing(like landing nipples or scale or
debris).
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Service Tools:
It is recommended to run a Tubing Gauge first to ensure that the required depth can be reached and
that the tubing ID is clear. A tubing gauge is often used to remove minor scale or salt deposits and
light paraffin build-up from the tubing ID. A properly selected tubing gauge of the correct size and
length can be used to determine if there are any restrictions that will prevent other tools or downhole
devices from passing through.
The Tubing Swage is often used to re-open minor restrictions that have been caused by mechanical
damage to the tubing.
The Impression Tool (commonly called an impression block) is used primarily in fishing operations.
The tool is lowered into the well to the top of the fish. One light to moderate downward stroke of the
jars is usually sufficient enough to obtain an impression in the soft lead face. This impression is then
used to determine the type of tool necessary for the next step in the fishing operation.
The Blind Box is used to dislodge and drive down obstructions in the tubing. The Blind Box is often
used to cut the Slickline off the Rope Socket during fishing operations.
The Wire Grab is commonly used to catch and retrieve Slickline that has been balled-up. The wire
grab has been used successfully in retrieving trash from the tubing such as rubber elements, broken
springs, and other such debris that can become entangled in the barbs.
The Tubing Broach is commonly used to remove minor burrs, scale, rust and other hardened buildup
from the tubing walls. Broaches come in several different designs and sizes to suit the needs of a
specific application
The magnet fishing tool is practicable for removing small pieces of ferrous metal that may be resting
on top of a fish preventing the fish from being latched.
The Tubing End Locator is used to locate the end of the tubing. That depth measurement can then be
used as an accurate reference point to relate Tubing Measurements back to Slickline Measurements.
The Sand Bailer, often referred to as the “Pump Bailer” can be used to remove sand or other similar
debris from the top of a sub surface device which may be preventing recovery of the device by
regular slickline operations.
Locking Mandrels and Landing Nipples are used for plugging the tubing for many reasons, including
removing the wellhead or surface equipment, Testing the tubing, Setting packers, Separating zones
during production or stimulation, Installing safety valves, Install as many selective nipples with the
same ID as desired in the production strin
With the advent of better battery packs and downhole memory, many advanced services can be run
on slickline ranging from bond tools, pulsed neutron tools, and production logging tools. The ability to
get a real time CCL utilizing a downhole tool composed of a CCL, battery pack and brake pads which
momentarily set when a collar is detected. The increase in tension is seen at the surface and the
collar is recorded. This along with an electronic triggering device (ETD) allows setting plugs and
perforating.
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Chapter 4 – Other Product Service Lines
Completions
After a borehole is drilled and casing run, cement is displaced into the annulus to create a
„competent, cement sheath‟ between the casing and formation, isolating zones and providing
structural support for the casing string. The design of how the well will be completed is the function of
the Completions Products group
Completion Design focuses on several areas:

 What casing hardware is required?
 What type of production is expected?
 What pressures are expected?
 What government regulations are there?
 What future testing might be desired?
Hardware
Completion often begins with tubing which allows the isolation of the casing from the borehole fluids
and pressures. This is accomplished through the use of a packer. A packer is composed of an
elastomeric element which expands to seal between the packer mandrel and the casing.
Casing type is described by size (O.D.) and weight (wall thickness & thread type); selection is
determined by hole size and the pressures likely to be encountered during running casing and during
cementing.
There are different types and uses of casing. The first casing
string normally placed in the well is the conductor pipe. The
conductor pipe prevents surface formations from caving in
around the borehole. A large hole is drilled and a short section
of large casing or “culvert” pipe is placed in the hole and cement
is poured in around the outside. It is sometimes driven into the
ground using a pile driver.
The next casing run will be the surface casing. Its purpose is to
prevent contamination of the fresh water aquifers by the drilling
or completion process. Cement will be circulated back to surface
to insure zonal isolation.
Intermediate casing is run to cover problem zones encountered
during the drilling of the well. These may be zones with
abnormal pressures, high or low, or zones which fracture easily
or cause lost circulation.
Production casing or production liner will be run to allow the
hydrocarbons in the target zone to be produced. A liner does
not run all the way back to surface but is “hung” or tied back to
the intermediate string using special equipment.
Sometimes pre-perforated or slotted liners may be placed across the producing zone eliminating the
need to perforate. In some special situations casing may not be used to line the portion of the hole
being produced. This is referred to as a “barefoot” or open hole completion.
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Tubing is also described by size (O.D.) and weight along with the grade of steel used and the type of
connection. Tubing will often have an “upset” on it. An upset is an increase in the thickness of the
steel at the ends of the tubular where the threads are placed. This makes the threaded connection
stronger.
External Upset pipe means the additional steel increases the outside diameter (OD) of the tubing as
opposed to Internal Upset which decreases the internal diameter (ID) of the tubing. Both of these
types of upset utilize a thread and coupling design. This means both ends of the pipe are threaded
and then a female coupling is screwed onto on end.
There is also integral joint pipe also know as flush joint pipe. It has an upset but both the male (pin)
and female (box) threads are machined into the pipe. This is similar to how drill pipe is normally
constructed.
The well head or Christmas tree is composed of various valves which allow regulation of the flow and
monitoring pressure for different portions of the tubular components. The casing is held in place by a
casing hanger (casing head) which is composed of a set of slips and seals which allow a
predetermined weight of the casing to be “hung” off the wellhead and provide isolation of the annulus
of the casing. Tubing is hung from a tubing head (tubing hanger) which is just smaller version of the
casing hanger. The casing and tubing heads has fittings to allow pumping into the annulus or the
placement of pressure gauges.
A master valve allows the opening or closing of the well. Actual flow rate is commonly controlled
through a choke placed in the flow line. Tubing is normally used inside the casing for the actual
production of the well. This helps isolate the casing from corrosive fluids or high pressures which
could damage it.
Once the completion is in place, the well must be brought on line. This is typically accomplished
through replacing the hydrostatic column which counteracts the formation pressures with lighter fluids
to create an underbalanced situation or by swabbing the fluid out of the tubing with a piston type tool
run on slickline or braided line.
Sub-surface Safety Valves

In some situations, usually in environmentally sensitive areas, a downhole valve is
placed in the tubing string to prevent unwanted fluid flow to the surface in the event
of a catastrophe. The valve can be controlled by hydraulic pressure supplied from
the surface. In the event of loss of the hydraulic pressure (like loss of the wellhead),
the valve will close stopping the flow of the fluids. This valve is usually run about
100 feet in the ground to protect them from surface damage. Another type of safety
valve is controlled by changes in downhole conditions and does not require any
hydraulic line connection to the surface.
Seal-bore assemblies
In some situations the tubing string may undergo significant expansion and/or contraction due to
pressure and/or temperature changes. The stresses on the packer could be sufficient to unseat or
damage the packer seal. In these cases a seal-bore assembly(stinger) is place on the bottom of the
tubing and a corresponding seal-bore extension (SBR or seal-bore receptacle) is place below the
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packer. The seal-bore assembly has seals around its circumference which will seal on the inside of
the seal-bore extension and allow the tubing to move up and down inside the packer without losing a
pressure seal.
The packer is normally set first with its seal bore extension and the tubing is run in afterwards and
“stung” into the packer often utilizing a component called a mule-shoe guide. The mule shoe guide
is place on the bottom of the tubing string and has an angled surface which acts like a ramp guiding
the bottom of the tubing into the packer.
Seal-Bore Assembly Operation Mule Shoe Guide
Inside the tubing, “landing nipples” are placed as the receptacle for
slickline tools run into the tubing during the life of the well. The landing
nipples are actually just short pieces of tubing with a profile cut on
the inside of it. This profile will match a profile on the outside of a
corresponding “locking mandrel” which is run with
slickline with various tools or gauges attached to the bottom of it. The
inside diameter of the landing nipples determine what size tools
will pass through. The smallest nipple is normally placed at the
bottom of the tool string and is often referred to as the no-go nipple.
The nipples are a physical part of the tubing string and must be
placed in the string when it is run into the hole. There are some
slickline tools called Monolock tools which do not require a landing
nipple to work. Instead they usually use a battery operated
downhole power unit to help in placement.
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Artificial Lift
Artificial Lift is sometimes required when the formation pressures are insufficient to bring the
formation fluids to the surface. This commonly happens as the pressure in a reservoir declines after
some period of production.
Pump Jack
The most common artificial lift method is a pump jack also know as a beam pump. A walking beam is
attached to sucker rod which runs to a bottom hole pump. The reciprocation of the sucker rod
operates the pump which forces the fluid to the surface. The pump is composed of a piston, a pump
body(barrel) and 2 ball valves (traveling valve on top and the standing valve on bottom) which act like
opposing one-way valves. When the sucker rod strokes the plunger up, the standing valve opens to
allow fluid to enter the pump body while the traveling valve closes to prevent the fluid in the tubing
from pushing back into the pump. When the sucker rod strokes down, the standing valve will close to
prevent fluid going out the bottom of the barrel while the traveling valve open to allow the fluid in the
pump to be pushed to the surface.
Hydraulic Pumps
Hydraulic pumps utilize a surface hydraulic pump to supply hydraulic pressure to a downhole
hydraulic pump which forces the well fluids to the surface along with the hydraulic fluid. It is common
to use the produced oil as the source for the hydraulic fluid to operate the system. This system
usually requires 2 paths for flow; one for pumping the hydraulic fluid down and the other for producing
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the fluid from the pump. This can be accomplished using 2strings of tubing either concentric or
parallel in the casing or utilizing the annulus between the tubing and casing for one of the flow paths.
Another type of hydraulic pump is called a jet pump which utilizes the venture effect to “drag” bottom-
hole fluid up the well with hydraulic fluid being pumped through a downhole jet and requires no
moving parts downhole.
Electrical Submersible Pumps ESP

ESP utilize an electric motor which turns an impeller pump which can bring large volumes of fluid to
the surface. Mulitple ESP can be run simultaneously depending on the amount of fluid and
hydrostatic requirements. The motors are powered by an armored electrical cable run on the outside
of the tubing. A “Y” tool can be run immediately above the pump to allow wireline, slickline, or coiled
tubing to access below the pump and even allows the pump to be run with logging tools in the well.
Gas Lift
Gas Lift utilizes valves (gas-lift valves) placed in the production tubing. By pumping gas into the
annulus outside of the tubing, gas can be injected into the tubing which helps lighten the hydrostatic
and bring the fluids in the tubing to the surface. The valves are normally open with the top-most valve
allowing the gas to flow into the tubing. Once the pressure differential reaches a pre-set value the top
valve will close allow the gas in the annulus to flow down to the next valve which will also close once
its pre-set value is reached and so on.
Plunger Lift
Plunger lift utilizes the lifting force of gas being produced in a well to move produced water out of the
tubing. Sometimes a gas well will be shut in for a period of time to allow the pressure to build up. It is
then opened and the gas in the well will lift the water to the surface. This is commonly called
“slugging” the well. It is not terribly efficient as much of the water will fall back to the bottom of the well
around the gas bubble. By utilizing a piston inside the tubing, the efficiency of this “slugging” is
increased dramatically. More water, and therefore more hydrostatic weight, is removed for each cycle
of the well allowing overall production to increase.
Progressive-Cavity Pump
Progressive cavity pumps are much like the downhole mud motors utilized in directional drilling but in
reverse. The primary difference is instead of pumping fluid to turn the motor, we turn the motor to
pump the fluid. This is accomplished using sucker rods which are rotated with a surface motor. It
should be noted that in beam pumps we also use sucker rods but they are reciprocated not rotated.
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Sand Control
In some unconsolidated sandstone formations, it is possible to generate sufficient force from the
movement of producing fluids to produce some of the formation sand along with the wellbore fluids.
Since the quartz which sandstone is composed of is harder than steel, impinging the sand on the
tubulars in the well generates premature wear of those tubular. To prevent sand from entering the
tubulars, wire-wrapped screen is place on the end of the tubing. Since this screen could also be
eroded by the sand, it is normal to pack sand around the outside of the screen known as Gravel-
Packing. Achieving a thorough gravel pack can be difficult so pre-packed screens are often used.
This is basically a screen inside a screen with sand packed in between. This will reduce erosion of
the inner screen in the event the gravel pack does not accomplish its objective.
All Welded Wire-Wrapped Screen Dual Pre-packed Screen
A customer may also elect to consolidate the sand in the formation by pumping special epoxy-like
resins into the formation. The resin will harden and prevent the sand from moving without significantly
affecting the porosity and permeability of the formation.
Another option is to create a short fracture in the formation by pumping fluid under pressure and pack
with proppant known as a Frac-Pac. As opposed to a normal proppant fracturing job trying to
increase production, its primary goal is to prevent sand from the formation entering the wellbore.
If fine sand does manage to enter the wellbore, it can pack off and stop the flow of the well. In this
case it must be removed typically through the use of sand bailers on slickline or wireline or using
coiled tubing or macaroni tubing. If none of the previous methods will work, they will pull the tubing
and packer and clean out the sand by circulating it out of the hole. If the tubing is stuck by buildup of
sand or other debris in the annulus, the tubing will be cut or backed-off above the stuck point and a
washover pipe is use to circulate out the debris.
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Cementing
After a borehole is drilled and casing run, cement is displaced into the annulus to create a
‘competent, cement sheath’ between the casing and formation, isolating zones and providing
structural support for the casing string.
General Cementing
Cementing combines the disciplines of chemical and mechanical engineering, to design a cement
slurry mix that meets downhole conditions and that can be displaced into casing/formation annulus
without damaging either the casing or the formation. Cement serves to:
 Isolate formations; sealing off some, while allowing access to other producing zones
through perforating.
 Protect and strengthen casing from mechanical and chemical influences.
‘Cement jobs’ are designed in-house, to meet the requirements outlined in the well program.
Depending on whether the job is for a shallow straight well or a deep, deviated well; a simple low-cost
design may suffice or more complex and probably more expensive solution may be required.
In simple terms; the casing and borehole behave much like a ‘U’ tube manometer. One arm of the
manometer is the casing and the other, the annular space between casing and formation. As fluid is
pumped down through the casing, fluid in the annulus is pushed or displaced back towards the
surface. This is a simplified model, in practice fluid (cement) is pumped into the casing, which has a
different density to the fluid (mud) already in the hole, often the annular gap is usually small and tends
to restrict flow, the general principle is however, essentially the same.
A cement job is deemed successful, after appraisal by cement bond log and pressure testing prior to
drilling ahead. Alternatively in a production zone we expect no communication between zones after
perforating. In all instances we need a successful bond between casing and cement and cement and
formation to achieve complete isolation.
Design
Design focuses on several areas:
 What casing hardware is required?

 What volume of cement slurry is required?
 What cement additives are required?
 What pumping schedule and hardware is required?
Hardware
Casing type is described by size (O.D.) and weight (wall thickness & thread type); selection is
determined by hole size and the pressures likely to be encountered during running casing and during
cementing.
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Casing hardware design covers the selection of casing attachments which assist cement placement,
e.g. centralizers and scratchers and also the inclusion of a guide shoe, shoe joint and any float
equipment. Centralizers are included to maintain casing centralization, and a uniform annular gap
around the casing. This is to encourage the cement slurry to completely fill the annulus, without
restriction. Scratchers are included to remove any mud cake from the wall of the well bore, as casing
is run into the hole. This helps ensure a good bond between the formation and the cement. Float
shoes and float collars incorporate a one way valve to prevent the cement slurry from back-flowing
into the casing after displacement; they also provide a seat or ‘landing’ for plugs displaced before and
after the cement slurry (bottom plug and top plug).
Volumes
Cement slurry design calculations are made by referencing the well design, and are easily carried out
using Halliburton’s ‘Red Book’. The Red Book tabulates annular volume based on borehole I.D and
casing O.D. and various other downhole configurations that may be encountered in the field. OptiCem
software is often used for these calculations, provided the well dimensions and configuration are
known and correctly entered into the program.
Cement job design requires calculation of:
3
 Cement Slurry Volume (ft )
 Cement Volume (sacks)
 Mixing water requirement (bbl)
 Displacement fluid Volume (bbl)
 Pressure to land plug (psi)
Additives
Cement slurry is a mixture of ‘base cement’, water and various additives. Additives come in powdered
or liquid form, and are either dry mixed into the cement or mixed as liquids into the ‘mix water’. When
the slurry is mixed, chemical changes take place causing the slurry to harden or cure. This hardening
process can be accelerated or retarded and is a critical design parameter that has to be considered
in the light of overall job time. There may also be additives required for increasing cement density,
avoiding lost circulation, reducing slurry fluid loss or addressing gas control issues. Each requirement
can be met by introducing particular additives into the overall cement slurry design.
Correct cement placement is critical and depends on calculated displacement volume. Using cement
plugs helps avoid under and over displacement. Under displacement would leave cement in the
casing or drill string (depending on technique), over displacement would push displacement fluid
(often mud) into the annulus.
Pressure calculation during displacement (pressure to land plug) is also critical, too much and there is
a possibility that the casing will be lifted out of the hole (has to be chained down) or in some case the
casing may burst or collapse.
In some designs a spacer or flush is included in the cement program. The idea is to prevent
contamination of the cement by drilling mud and improve hole cleanout ahead of the cement
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Pumping Schedule
Let’s see where the cement job occurs in the well program;
Once a section of the hole is drilled, the following sequence of events will likely take place:
 Wiper trip – the driller will often run into the hole with the drill bit, circulate and pull out, in
order to clean out the hole and ensure casing can be run to ‘TD’.
 Rig-up and run casing in hole – casing crew will rig up special handling equipment to run
casing in hole.
 Rig-up and pump cement – cement unit will be rigged-up to the well head and cementer will
run the cement job.
 Wait on cement – cement takes time to cure or „set‟, depending on composition.
 Bit and scraper – driller will run in hole to clean out any remaining cement debris.
 Rig-up Cement Bond Log (CBL) – logging crew will run tools depending on the program, at
this stage, these may include, CBL, plug or packer and possibly perforating if this is the
production hole-section.
Before rig-up and pumping, the job will have been designed and the equipment and chemicals
shipped to the rig. In some situations a cementing unit will be permanently installed on the rig
(offshore), where it is may be used for conducting rig pressure tests.
Part of job design also involves matching available equipment to the hydraulic horse-power required
for the job; ensuring job design pump rates can be achieved. There are several reasons for this - to
ensure that:
 Cement can be put in place before setting!

 Downhole pressures (expressed through ECD) do not exceed formation fracture pressure
gradients or casing burst/collapse pressures
 Turbulent flow can be achieved during cement displacement
Note: using ECDs (Equivalent Circulating Densities) is a way of expressing the sum of hydrostatic
pressure and the pressure required to overcome frictional resistance to flow or circulate a fluid. ECD
at a particular depth in the hole must not exceed the fracture pressure of the formation at that depth.
Prior to running casing, the hole would have been circulated. The casing string is then made up and
run in hole. In some designs a shoe joint would be included. This joint is right at the bottom of the
string and provides a short section where mud and other debris scraped from the casing inner surface
can collect, without being displaced around the casing shoe or further up into the casing/formation
annulus. This is a potential problem in jobs where only a top plug is used.
The pumping unit is rigged up to the casing via a cement head. Once rigged up the sequence is:
 Pump the spacer fluid

 Drop the bottom plug
 Pump the cement slurry
 Drop the top plug
 Pump the displacement fluid
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Once the bottom plug reaches the float collar in the casing string, it stops and a diaphragm bursts,
allowing the cement slurry to flow through the plug. The cement is displaced into the annulus as the
top plug advances downhole. During pumping the casing is often rotated and reciprocated in order to
encourage a uniform annular cement fill. The top plug eventually lands on the bottom plug and
displacement stops, as indicated by a sudden rise in surface pressure (termed bumping the plug).
At this point, pump pressure can be shut-down; no back-flow of cement into the casing should occur,
if the one-way valve in the float collar is working correctly.
Once in place, the cement is allowed to harden, typically the time for „Waiting on Cement‟ is around
24 hours though recommended time prior to bond log is 72 hours.
Inner-String Cementing
In circumstances where the casing string is large it may be impractical to pump the slurry down the
casing string, simply because such high cement volumes would be wasted when displaced to the
smaller annulus. One method used to avoid this is called inner-string cementing. The inner string is
either drill-pipe or tubing set in a packer of some type.
Staged-Cementing
The description above relates to single-stage cementing. In some instances, with long casing strings,
cementing may be planned in two or more stages (multi-stage cementing), using special „diverter‟
hardware incorporated in the string. The stages are referred to as; lead and tail. Lead is usually
designed with „light‟ cement and Tail with higher density cement, tail cement is designed to cover the
production zone and provide critical isolation.
Cement plugs
There are times when it is necessary to plug a well for abandonment (P&A) or plug-back for „side-
tracking‟. Typically a cement plug will be designed and pumped into place under „balanced‟
conditions (balanced plug). The idea is that after the spacer and cement are pumped and the drill
pipe or tubing removed from the hole, there is no tendency for the fluids to intermingle. Both Fluid
layers will drop as pipe is pulled from the hole, but each layer remains discrete and unmixed.
Note: balanced plug design is one of ensuring that cement and spacer heights inside and outside the
placement string are the same, in other words ‘matching’ pipe volume and annular volume.
Squeeze Cementing
Where zonal isolation is found to be poor, remedial work may in some instances justify a squeeze;
this is often an option where channels or voids are present behind casing (frequently identified by
Cement Bond and CAST logs). There are various squeeze techniques, some using packers, or
combinations of plugs and packers. Essentially the casing is perforated and cement is either „blind-
squeezed‟ or „circulation-squeezed‟ into the interval. A subsequent Cement Bond Log is used to verify
if the squeeze was successful. One particular case where squeezing will not be effective, is where
micro-annulus is present.
Note: A micro-annulus is a very small gap that can be created between the casing and cement; so
small that cement slurries cannot be pumped in to fill the gap. A micro-annulus is usually the result of
surface coatings on casing, which were not removed prior to running the casing in hole. It can also be
created when pressure is maintained on the casing string after the top plug has landed and the
cement has hardened. In practice, although we can’t remedy micro-annulus, it presents little or no
problem as far as isolation is concerned, since hydrocarbon flow, liquid or gas is minimal.
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Production Optimization
Production Optimization, (a.k.a. Production Enhancement or Stimulation) treatments are designed to
improve production on newly drilled wells and wells where production is declining, by modification of
the formation flow regime.
Production Optimization requires knowledge of fluid, chemical and mechanical properties. Job
preparation and execution are similar in some respects to Cementing; that of pumping a „designed‟
fluid system downhole to a particular location. Pressure limitation of tubulars, compatibility between
the treating fluid and the formation (rocks and fluids), fluid temperature and pH behavior, fluid density,
viscosity and fluid loss are all part of the design process.
Formations & Fluid flow

Formations can be described by many parameters: (Thickness, Area, Pressure, Porosity, and
Permeability, to name a few.
Imagine drilling a borehole into a permeable formation. The formation will exhibit a natural formation
pressure, which may in some cases be sufficient to overcome hydrostatic pressure, driving formation
fluids into the wellbore. The differential pressure causing fluids to flow exists between the wellbore
and some point deep into the reservoir, „driving‟ formation fluids towards the wellbore in a radial flow
pattern; though idealized; the flow pattern is a similar in shape to that of a doughnut, with flow
converging towards the center hole.
Fluid flow through a formation is described by Darcy‟s Equation, and depends among other things
on formation permeability. Darcy‟s equation for steady-state radial flow is shown below; remember
that it is nothing more than Ohm‟s Law applied to 3-D fluid flow. The equation includes some other
terms, making it more applicable to a realistic flow inside a formation.
Rd
141.2Q ln S
Rw
Pr Pbhf
h
- Permeability, - Viscosity, Rd - Drainage radius, Rw - Wellbore radius, S - Skin, - Volume

factor, Pbhf - Bottom hole flowing pressure, Pr - Reservoir pressure, Q - Flow rate
Re-arranging and using the correct units we could calculate flowrate ‘Q’ in STB (Stock Tank
Barrels)/day, though in practice many production comparisons are made using the ratio Q/ΔP, which
is known as the Productivity Index
Note: we said ‘realistic’, but even this equation is somewhat simplified, and applies only under steady
state conditions. Consider also that two or more fluids will be present in hydrocarbon bearing
formations, and permeabilities will not be ‘straight-forward’. In practice there will be transient effects
as flow builds up or declines naturally, or is modified by changing boundary conditions (such as the
pressure differential, which can be controlled from surface, by opening or closing a choke)..
Natural permeability may be „good‟; in some cases it may be poor (usually for the formations we deal
with, permeabilities are normally in the milli-Darcy range). The action of drilling may impair near
wellbore permeability through mechanical damage. Drilling fluids may react with formations (rock and
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fluids), causing some reduction of near wellbore permeability, again „damaging‟ the natural
permeability of the formation. Damage is also caused by perforating, as rock is pulverized by the jet,
blocking flow channels and releasing fine particles into the network of pores.
To account for this „damage‟, note the term „S‟ included in Darcy‟s equation. This term is called „Skin
Factor‟ and is included to account for the reduction in permeability close to the wellbore as a result of
drilling and/or completion activities. Skin Damage is generally overcome using stimulation
treatments.
Note: A positive value indicates a restriction to flow while a negative value indicates flow
enhancement, usually the result of stimulation. Natural fractures can sometimes result in a positive
skin.
Rock Mechanics
Besides fluid flow; Production Optimization requires consideration of rock mechanics. Within any
underground formation/structure there are inherent or in-situ stresses. These stresses are the result
of over-lying strata (overburden) and tectonic stresses from other geological structures which are
generally resolved into the horizontal plane as maximum and minimum principle stresses.
During drilling „externally applied stresses‟ cause modification to in-situ stresses in the immediate
vicinity of the wellbore. This combination of in-situ and externally applied stresses may change the
borehole shape or even cause collapse. During production the movement of fluids through the
formation may cause breakdown/shear of formation particles (sand production). Effective Stimulation
treatment (fracturing) requires knowledge of rock elastic properties, so we can break the rock and
predict to some degree the geometry of the resulting fracture in both extent and direction.
We can predict something about the behavior of rocks, subjected to stresses by making some
simplifying assumptions – that the rock is homogeneous, isotropic and behaves linear-elastically. We
can then calculate the usual material properties; stress, strain, Young‟s modulus, Poisson‟s ratio.
Though this is probably far from the truth for many rocks, it will serve as a good first approximation.
Remember that:
 Stress is force/area
 Strain is extension/original length
 Young‟s modulus is stress/strain, relating to stiffness, higher the value, the stiffer the
material.
 Poisson‟s ratio is lateral strain/axial strain, resulting from axial loading (describes how a
block of material deforms in one direction when loaded in another direction). A high value
means significant axial stress is transmitted laterally.
Measuring in-situ stresses is very difficult, and although we do have some hope measuring externally
applied stresses even this is complicated under flowing conditions, primarily because of friction.
Young‟s modulus and Poisson‟s ratio can be estimated from acoustic logs.
As you can see there are stresses from above as well as horizontal stresses. The stress field within
the formation is complicated and also has directional properties. A consequence is that any fracture
we create will propagate through the formation in a direction controlled by this stress field. Most
fracture geometries we see in practice tend to open like the cover of a book, held upright for reading.
The reason is simply, that as depth increases, it becomes progressively harder to „lift‟ the overlying
formations. To complete the picture; It may not be immediately evident, but in practice fractures also
extend in pairs (wings), on either side of the borehole.
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Note: Overburden stress is supported by the rock mineral grains and also by pore pressure. Another
term that is important in predicting the way a rock responds to stress is Biot’s constant, which
quantifies how much of the overburden stress is supported by formation fluids (pore pressure) and
how much is supported by the rock matrix itself.
Production Optimization
PO, like cementing combines the disciplines of chemical and mechanical engineering, to design
treatments that enhance or improve hydrocarbon production. Treatment systems are designed to be
compatible with a specific downhole environment (lithology, fluids, temperature and
pressure).Treatments can be categorized as follows:
 Hydraulic fracturing – rocks are subjected to stresses which cause them to fracture. Once
open, these fractures will tend to close back after releasing pressure. To ensure the fracture
stays open we can „prop‟ it apart using fine grains (proppant), usually natural sand or some
similar but „engineered‟ material.
 Acidizing
o Fracture-Acidizing – fractures in rock can be opened and fracture faces etched
using acid, so they no longer fit together, in this way a flow path is established in the
rock
o Matrix-Acidizing – rock minerals can be selectively dissolved with particular types of
acid, enlarging or establishing new flow channels without the need for fracturing.
PO treatments are designed in-house, to meet the requirements outlined in the well program.
Depending on the environment (rocks and fluids present), a particular treatment will be selected. The
job will likely be considered successful after carrying out production tests.
A reservoir exhibiting low natural permeability may be subjected to „proppant-fracturing‟; often this is
the preferred technique with sandstones, but may include carbonate reservoirs. Fracture-acidizing,
using hydrochloric-acid is particularly effective with carbonate reservoirs, depending on solubility.
Matrix-acidizing; using hydrochloric (carbonates) or hydrofluoric acid (sandstones) is another option,
in the case of sandstone, the intention is to remove damage from clays and other silicates distributed
within rock matrix.
Proppant Fracturing
With any hydraulic fracturing treatment, the idea is to break apart or split the rock, to increase
pathways for fluid flow. Recall that after drilling into a formation fluid flow is radially inwards, towards
the wellbore; flow paths converge and fluid speed increases as the area for flow gradually decreases.
In practice there is a limit to how fast the fluids can be „drawn‟ into the wellbore and brought to
surface (without breaking down and eroding the formation). One way to avoid this „bottleneck‟ is to
create fractures, allowing linear flow from deep into the formation into the fracture. The fracture itself
provides an increased flow channel to the wellbore. Fracture conductivity is the property used to
describe how easily fluids can pass through the fracture on their way to the wellbore.
Of course, having opened a fracture, the problem is how to keep it open? One way to do this is by
„propping‟ it open using a proppant material. Sand is a typical proppant, either man-made or naturally
occurring. Proppant choice is important; if the proppant is not hard enough, it will crush, if it is too
hard it will embed into the fracture face.
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The process is one of opening the fracture and then leaving behind sufficient proppant to keep it from
closing. Proppant delivery is achieved using a „cross-linked‟ fluid, which exhibits high viscosity. Once
the proppant is in place, the fluid system is a potential impediment to flow, so it must be modified
using a „breaker‟.
Note: as you have probably guessed from the terminology; viscosity is achieved with various types of
polymeric additives
Design Calculations
The whole process requires three pumped stages, each carefully designed, taking into consideration:
 Bottom Hole Treating Pressure - BHTP

 Friction loss in pipe
 Slurry density and volume
 Maximum allowable Wellhead pressure
 Hydraulic horsepower
 Pump rate
The details of the calculations need not concern us; critical parameters are calculated manually, using
a Halliburton „Red Book‟ or using a software package. The overall concept is of interest however.
In order to fracture the rock we need to apply a certain pressure at the formation. This will depend on
surface pressure, fluid density and any losses incurred getting the fluid to the formation.
Fracture geometry will be determined by a number of factors; height is controlled essentially by the
Poisson‟s ratio associated with surrounding formations. Fracture depth (into the formation) is a
function of many factors; perforation geometry, proppant-loading, tortuosity, fluid system design and
volume just to name a few. Fracture direction is controlled by the stresses existing around the
borehole. Fractures, even those initiated in some other direction will eventually align themselves
perpendicularly to the direction of the least principle stress, as they propagate further into the
formation.
During the whole process fracture geometry increases and fluid loss occurs. Pump rates and
equipment requirements are an important part of job design, in order to maintain sufficient pressure to
open and extend the fracture.
Pumping Schedule
The treatment is delivered in three stages:
 First a pad is pumped to initiate fracture and extend the geometry.

 Second a sand laden proppant stage is pumped (bear in mind that as fluid is pumped, fluid
loss occurs from the treatment into the formation), once the desired amount of proppant is in
place, the second stage is complete.
 Third final stage is a flush, to remove proppant from the tubing.
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Additives
Fracturing fluids which may be water or oil-based and are designed to have specific properties to
address:
 Proppant carrying requirements – gels, cross-linkers, breakers
 Friction reduction - gels
 Fluid loss requirements - gels
 Compatibility requirements – Clay stabilizers
Typically a fluid system will be designed to exhibit a particular pH, „frac-fluid‟ properties will then be
modified via pH control. A typical fluid system may contain gelling agents, cross-linkers, surfactants,
fluid-loss control additives, breakers, bactericides and other constituents. The idea is to transport the
sand efficiently to the fracture site, put it in place and allow the fracture to close, leaving no residue or
other contaminants. Gelled/cross-linked fluids achieve a combination of high viscosity and low friction
and can carry high proppant loads. Breakers function to „break‟ the cross-linked fluid and reduce the
viscosity, leaving the proppant behind in the fracture and allowing any residue to flow back.
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Coiled Tubing
Coiled Tubing uses a continuous string of tubing which is transported on a reel to the well site and
then unspooled and placed into the well bore.
Coiled Tubing can be used

with all of the Product
Service Lines (PSLs) in
Halliburton. It uses a
continuous string of tubing
which is transported on a reel
to the well site and then
unspooled and placed into
the well bore. One of the
biggest advantages of coiled
tubing is the lack of couplings
every 30 feet like standard
tubing. This allows a simpler
pressure control system to
allow placing the tubing into
a well under pressure. This
means there is no need to
“kill” the well to perform a
workover. Killing the well
involves pumping a heavy weight fluid (usually brine) into the well to overcome the formation
pressure. It also allows continuously pumping into the tubing while running it into the well. This along
with its small size makes it useful for cleaning out sand and scales often found in production tubing,
casing, and sand screens without the need for pulling the tubing.
The common sizes of coiled tubing varies between 1” up to 3-1/2”. The smaller sizes are normally
used for through tubing cleanout work while the large sizes can be utilized to run a downhole motor
for drilling.
The disadvantage of coiled tubing is that it has a limited number of times it can be bent and unbent.
This makes it more expensive to operate than standard conventional tubing. But it is normally faster
to rig up and run in and out of the hole so on many wells the additional cost is overcome by the
savings in time and the reduction of damage which might be caused by killing the well.
Logging tools can be placed on the end of the tubing for transport in deviated wells. They can be run
with battery power and memory recorders, or wireline can actually be placed inside the coiled tubing
and attached to the top of the tool and run like conventional wireline.
For sand fill and scales, a jet nozzle is attached to the end of the tubing and various fluids (water,
acid, nitrogen) can be pumped through the tubing and out the nozzle.
A hydra jetting carbide orifice can be placed on the end of the tubing and you can cut the tubular
outside using water pressure and some abrasive. No explosives are involved and slots can actually
be cut by moving the coiled tubing while pumping through the tool.
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Inflatable packers are available to run on coiled tubing for squeezing operations using cement, acid,
or other fluids.
A down hole drilling motor can be operated on larger sizes of coiled tubing to drill out packers,
cement, or even cutting “windows” in casing to allow laterals to be drilled out of a vertical section.
A customer may sometimes run coiled tubing reaching the end of its life span and keep it in the well
to deliver chemicals down the well at the appropriate times.
The parts of a coiled tubing unit are

the coil itself, the guide arch, the
injector, and the well control
equipment. The tubing guide or
guide arch takes the tubing from
the reel and guides it into the
injector. The injector is responsible
for pushing or pulling the coiled
tubing from the well. It consists of 2
counter-rotating hydraulic motors
turning a chain which has gripper
blocks attached to it which grab the
tubing and move it in and out of the
hole. The well control equipment consists of a stripper (like an annular BOP, a tubing ram, a blind
ram, a shear ram, and a slip ram (which holds the tubing in the event the shear ram is activated.
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Appendix I – Additional Material
Most of the material in this section was taken from „EL-1007; Open-hole Log Analysis & Formation
Evaluation‟ and edited.
Reserve Estimation
For many end users of log data, the most important calculation is that of the hydrocarbon reserves in the
reservoir. This chapter covers the mathematics and philosophy of reserve estimation. It should be noted
that accurate reserve figures do not rely solely on log data and computations from logs. The size and
shape of a reservoir are delineated by seismic data, correlation of logs from neighboring wells, and
dipmeter data. Log analysis can only define the concentration of hydrocarbons in place in terms of bulk
volume fractions. Extrapolation of these figures to reserves requires more than logs alone can provide.
In metaphor, a log analyst can pronounce with a reasonable degree of certainty that 65% of the volume
of a bottle is full of oil. It is up to others to determine the size of the bottle and then deduce the actual
volume of oil available.
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Oil & Gas in – place Estimation
Consider a cylindrical block of porous rock with volume, V porosity, Φ, and water saturation, Sw The oil
in place in such a block is Φ.V.(1 - Sw), in units of V. If V is expressed in cubic feet or cubic meters then
the oil in place is expressed in the same units since Φ and Sw are merely unit-less fractions.
In the more general case, some reservoir of thickness, h is believed to exist over an area, A, such that V
= h x A. In this case, the units of h and A must be considered in order to produce a volume, V. If h
is measured in feet and A in acres, the reservoir volume, V, is expressed in acre-feet If h is in
meters and A in hectares, then V is expressed in hectare-meters.
So far we have considered only reservoir units at constant porosity and saturation. In actual
reservoirs both porosity and saturation vary laterally and vertically. A useful quantity for making oil
in place estimates is the bulk volume hydrocarbons (BVHC), which is defined as:
BVHC 1 Sw
Thus, at any depth in a well if both porosity and saturation are known, the concentration of
hydrocarbon in the reservoir at that depth can be estimated. For example: if porosity is 30% and
water saturation is 40% then BVHC = 0.3 (1.0 - 0.4) = 0.18 (i.e., 18% of the reservoir rock volume
contains oil or gas). At a different depth in the same well, the value of BVHC may be different. The
total oil in place (OIP) is found by integration of BVHC with respect to depth and area.
OIP 1 S w h. A
If h is measured in feet and A in acres, then the OIP will be expressed in acre-feet
It is useful to express the reservoir content as a concentration by leaving out the unknown quantity,
A If all the BVHC values for all depths have been found, then the total hydrocarbon feet (HCFT) can
be found by:
HCFT BHVC h
HCFT may be expressed in units of barrels/acre or cubic meters/hectare by the simple expedient of
a numerical constant dependent on the units chosen.
1 foot = 7757.79 barrels/acre

1 meter = 10,000 cubic meters/hectare
Expressing HCFT in barrels/ acre or cubic meters/hectare gives flexibility in the use of the number.
For example, if log data shows a total HCFT of 10ft, this may be expressed as 77,578 barrels/acre.
If the area of the reservoir is known, then the OIP may be quickly calculated. If new information
becomes available and the mapped area changes, it is a simple matter to recalculate the OIP. It
should be noted that the term OIP" is used rather laxly here since the hydrocarbon could be gas,
but the basic expressions will not change. Another useful quantity is HCFT/h. This average BVHC
is in terms of barrels/ acre-ft, which is unit-less. This is mathematically equal to:
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HCFT / h 1 1 S w .dh
h
Once this number is found, it can be used to estimate OIP values for any proposed net pay thickness, h,
or aerial extent, A
Reserve Estimation
So far, we have only discussed the volume of hydrocarbon found in a trap. Although this is important,
the bottom line is the stock tank barrels that can be recovered. The conversion of OIP to recoverable
reserves requires two additional pieces of data, the recovery factor, R, and the formation volume factor,
B. Neither of these can be estimated from logs. The recovery factor depends on the type of reservoir
and the drive mechanism. The formation volume factor is a function of the hydrocarbon properties. The
reserves, N, in terms of stock tank volumes are expressed as:
C.h. . 1 S w
N . A.R
B
Where C is a constant that takes into account the units used for h and A.
Recovery Factors
A number of studies have been published which attempt, either by theoretical means or by empirical
studies, to relate the primary recovery factor, R, to formation parameters which can be deduced from
logs. Approximate recovery factors may be calculated using equations for water drive and solution gas
drive reservoirs.
Formation Volume Factors
Due to dissolved gas in the oil at reservoir conditions, the volume of oil recovered at surface is less than
the volume of oil in the formation. This shrinkage is quantified by the oil formation volume factor; Boil, It is
a function of the gas gravity, the solution gas/oil ratio, and the formation temperature. The factors
required are not always at hand in a wildcat situation; oil and gas samples may need to be collected and
submitted for PVT analysis.
Gas formation volume factors depend on formation pressure, temperature, and the super
compressibility factor Z for the particular gas in question. In general, Bgas will be a small fraction of 1;
many 10's or 100's of times as much gas will be recovered at the surface as exist at formation
conditions.
Depth and Net Pay Measurements
When summing pay, it is normal practice to compute a number of useful items such as:
 Gross section thickness;

 Net porous and permeable section thickness;
 Gross pay section thickness; and
 Net pay section thickness
Deviated Wells & Dipping Beds
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So far only vertical wells with horizontal beds have been considered. In the cases where the wellbore is
deviated or the beds are dipping, it is important to make allowances for these effects. The measured
thickness (MT) of a formation, measured from a log in a deviated hole, reflects neither its true
stratigraphic thickness (TST) nor its true vertical thickness (TVT). The geologist who tries to correlate a
zone across the field may find it difficult to deduce whether variations in thickness measured from a log
are legitimate bed thickness changes or whether they are geometrical distortions from hole deviation
and bed dip effects.
Likewise, the engineer trying to compute reserves is faced with the same type of problem. Measured
bed thickness can be less than true vertical bed thickness in some cases and greater in other cases.
Reservoir Volumes
The gross rock volume enclosed in a hydrocarbon-bearing structure can not be deduced from a single
log. Even with the aid of seismic mapping, many uncertainties will remain. However, after several wells
have been drilled, it is usually possible to prepare maps showing how many net feet of pay exist above
the oil-water (or gas-oil or gas-water) contact. Such maps are known as isopach maps.
Once such a map is drawn, the area enclosed within each contour may be found using a planimeter. A
plot is then made to show the area contained within each contour as a function of depth. The volume is
calculated as an integration of A. h either by planimeter or by numerical integration. With area given in
acres and contour thicknesses in feet, volumes will be calculated in acre-feet.
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Rock – Fluid Systems
Petrophysics is the study of rock-fluid systems. It is particularly important that the log analyst
understand the static and dynamic ways in which rocks and fluids interact. Logging measurements
are made under static reservoir conditions, but the prediction of reservoir behavior under dynamic
flow conditions can only be made with an understanding of the physics of fluid flow. The objective of
this discussion therefore is to equip the reader so he can relate log responses to reservoir
performance, rather than just static reservoir content. Hopefully the reader will come away with a
better "feel" for why some reservoirs with low water saturations produce with high water cut while
some with much higher computed water saturations produce water-free hydrocarbons.
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The Genesis of Reservoir Rocks
A reservoir rock is one that has both storage capacity and the ability to allow fluids to flow through it;
to be of practical use it must possess both porosity and permeability. Porosity can be the void space
left between grains of sediments as they are deposited. Typical of this inter-granular porosity would
be present in sandstone reservoirs. Porosity can also develop when chemicals react with rocks after
deposition. Typical of this solution type porosity would be carbonate reservoirs. In addition, porosity
can develop as fractures induced by the stresses of tectonic movement. Finally, porosity could
develop as the result of all three of these methods.
Porosity
The porosity in sedimentary rocks is a function of many variables such as grain shape, size,
orientation and sorting, broadly grouped as rock texture. If all the grains are the same size then
sorting is said to be good. If grains of many diverse sizes are mixed together sorting is said to be poor.
The packing of the grains determines the porosity. For a given sorting, porosity is independent of
the grain size. For example if spheres of diameter d are packed in a cubic lattice arrangement the
porosity can be calculated to be 47.64 %.
Cubic packing is not an efficient way to store spheres in a box and nature seeks more compact
packing mechanisms. Rhombohedral packing is denser and produces a porosity of 25.95% (as
opposed to 47.64% for cubic packing).
For a given packing method, porosity will decrease as sorting gets poorer since intergranular pores can be
occupied by ever smaller grains. Quite apart from the mechanics of how sand grains are packed, their
compaction with depth of burial is another matter. Porosity decreases with increasing depth in a predictable
manner and is generally linear as a function of depth.
Permeability
Porosity does not guarantee permeability; Swiss cheese, for example, is highly porous but impermeable.
While porosity is a static property of a rock, permeability is a dynamic one. Permeability is a measure of
how easily fluids will flow through a rock. If flow is laminar then Darcy's relation can be used to define
permeability (k) in terms of flow rate (Q), area (A), length (L), pressure differential (ΔP), and fluid viscosity
(μ).
P Q L (Darcy‟s relation); - permeability, - viscosity

A
If only one fluid is present in the pores, then this relation defines absolute permeability, which is a rock
property independent of the fluid flowing through it. The practical unit for permeability is the millidarcy,
abbreviated md, equal to 0.001 Darcy.
Note: You can use Darcy’s equation to illustrate absolute permeability. If you define ‘k’ as the absolute
permeability of the rock, in theory you could use any fluid to compute it – gas, water, oil… provided you
saturate the sample 100% by definition you’ll get the absolute permeability.
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Intuitively you may say; if I apply say 500psi to a sample and measure the resulting flowrate, then for gas
and oil the flow rates would be very different and I may conclude that ‘k’ is dependent on viscosity. The
approach is wrong!
The way to look at it is this; with oil, the viscosity term goes up, also the flowrate will drop for sure, but the
pressure will rise too, the net result is the same value of ‘k’, just obtained using a different fluid.
Choice of the fluid for core sample tests is purely based on laboratory preference, – solvents by their
nature, tend not to alter the very property of the rock we want to measure, so it makes sense to use them
to make the calculation.
The relationship between permeability and porosity depends on rock type. In general the log of
permeability is linear with porosity for a given rock type; however, the precise relationship is found only
through direct measurements of representative rock samples. Various investigators have developed
theoretical relationships between permeability and porosity that take into account textural features such as
the size, shape and distribution of pore channels in the rock.
Generalized formulae have been developed for fracture systems that relate permeability to the square of
the fracture width. In some reservoirs permeability is a vector, and takes on directional properties.
Depositional effects may tend to align grains along their long axis, increasing the permeability in that
direction. Vertical permeability may also be different from horizontal permeability. In fractured reservoirs,
permeability is likely to be highly directional.
Fluid Distribution in the Reservoir
Sediments are normally laid down in water, either in river and lake beds (continental), in deltas and along
shore lines (transitional), or on the continental shelves (marine). Exceptions to this rule are Aeolian dune
sediments which are initially deposited in a water free environment. Later in geologic time, after the
reservoir rock has been buried, hydrocarbons from source rocks migrated into the reservoir.
By simple density segregation, gas accumulates above oil, which overlays water. In the absence of any
rock matrix, gas, oil and water would form distinct layers with sharp contacts between each phase.
However in the reservoir the lines of demarcation between gas, oil and water become "blurred."
All the relevant principles can be explained by considering a simple case of a reservoir containing oil and
water, divided into three sections. The section at the top is mainly oil, the section at the bottom
is all water, and the section in the middle has ever increasing amounts of water as depth increases.
To understand the shape of the resulting water saturation curve in the transition zone:
Consider the simple case of a small glass tube held in a beaker of water .A capillary tube of radius, r
will be found to support a column of water of height, h. If the density of the air is ρa, the density of the
water is ρw and the gravity is g, then the pressure differential at the air-water contact:
h.g. w a .
This pressure differential acting across the cross sectional area of the capillary is exactly counter
balanced by the surface tension, T of the water film acting round the inner circumference of the
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capillary tube. It is not surprising that the smaller the radius of the capillary tube, the larger the
supported column height in the tube.
In the reservoir, the displacement of water by oil, and the lowering of the oil-water contact, is resisted by the
capillary effect of small pores in the rock. Thus the maximum height, to which water can be raised, is
controlled by the following factors:
 Interfacial tension, T, between the two phases

 Contact angle, B, between the wetting fluid and the rock
 Radius of the pore throats, r
 Density difference between the phases (p0 and pw )
Given these factors one can predict the height of a transition zone in a reservoir. Reservoirs with large pore
throats and high permeability will have short transition zones, and the transition zone at a gas/oil contact
will be shorter, and a gas/water transition zone will be shorter still, simply due to the inter-phase density
differences involved.
A typical pore system contains a variety of pore sizes and shapes, so no single value of pore throat radius
can be assigned to the reservoir. Depending on the distribution of the pore throat radii, as well as their
actual size, either many or few of the available pore channels will raise water above the free water level.
The water saturation above the top of the transition zone will depend on the pore size distribution.
In a water-wet system, water wets the surface of each grain (lines the walls of the capillary tubes). After the
oil migrates into the reservoir the capillary pressure effects are such that the progress of oil downwards in
the reservoir is most strongly resisted in the smallest capillaries. There is a limit to the amount of oil that can
be expected to fill the pores. Large diameter pores offer little resistance. Small diameter pores offer greater
resistance. For a given reservoir, p0 and pw determine the pressure differential an oil/water meniscus can
support, therefore the maximum oil saturation (or minimum water saturation) is controlled by the relative
number of small and large pore throat capillaries. This minimum water saturation is referred to as the
Irreducible Water Saturation, Swi. Shaly, silty, low permeability rocks (that have small pore throats) tend to
have very high irreducible water saturation. Clean sands (that have open pore throats and high
permeability) have very low Swi.
Some rock-fluid systems are preferentially oil-wet rather than water wet. The distinguishing trait is the
contact angle θ at the oil water interface on the rock surface. In oil-wet reservoirs, water will „bead‟ on the
grain surfaces, as on a highly waxed surface.
Rock-fluid systems exhibiting contact angles less than 75 degrees are considered water wet and those
with angles more than 105 degrees are considered oil-wet; in between they are considered neutral. Note
that contact angle is a combined rock-fluid property and studies have found that θ can depend on the
wetting history of the rock and the concentrations of polar components in the oil. oil wet reservoirs have
very low Swi values, since the capillary forces assist oil in the displacement of water during oil migration.
Relative Permeability
If only one fluid is present in a pore system, then fluid flow is nicely governed by Darcy's law. If two or more
fluids are present, then the dynamic behavior of the individual phases is not quite so straight forward.
Consider the case of oil and water together in a pore system. The Effective Permeability is defined as the
permeability to a particular phase at a particular saturation.
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For oil and water flow through a pore system under a pressure differential, we find that if both phases are
present the sum of the individual, effective permeabilities is less than the absolute permeability, k.
Furthermore it is found that the total flow rate is less than the flow rate either phase would have if it were
flowing alone. Thus it seems that the two phases interfere with each other's progress through the pore
system. A useful way to quantify this phenomenon is by definition of the Relative Permeability. This is the
ratio of the effective permeability of the rock to one phase divided by the absolute permeability, and it varies
with the saturation value.
In a two phase system, oil plus water; as we gradually reduce the water phase, we reach irreducible water
saturation, below this point relative permeability to water is zero, also relative permeability to oil is less than
„1‟. In an oil-wet system relative permeability to oil is always less for a given water saturation than for a
water wet system. Another way to look at this is to say, in an oil wet system relative permeability to oil is
always less than in a water wet system, for a given water saturation.
Relative Permeability Ratios
A common way of representing these differences is a plot of the relative permeability ratio, versus water
saturation, on a log-linear scale, a straight line is obtained in water-wet systems, „S‟ shape in oil wet
systems.
Imbibition and Drainage
When plotting relative permeability curves the distinction is usually made between two possible scenarios,
Imbibition and Drainage. Imbibition refers to the case where the wetting fluid is increasing in saturation. For
example in a water-wet reservoir a water table rise subjects the transition zone to imbibition of water.
Drainage refers to the case where the wetting fluid saturation is decreasing, for example when oil first
migrates into a water-wet rock. The difference between the two sets of relative permeability curves reflects
the saturation history and the trapping of the non wetting phase that occurs after it has been imbibed.
Empirical relationships have been developed in some areas to relate relative permeability, residual fluids
and fluid saturations.
Measurement of Porosity
Porosity may be measured by a variety of methods including:
 Borehole Gravimetrics
 Wireline logging
 Core analysis.
Each method investigates a different volume of the formation. The borehole gravimeter samples
very large volumes. Wireline logging tools investigate a much smaller volume, depending on the
specific porosity device used. Core analysis investigates smaller volumes still. One should not be
surprised when porosity estimates from these different techniques do not agree.
Measurement of Permeability
As with porosity measurement there are many ways to estimate permeability. These include:
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 Pressure buildup from drill stem tests
 Pressure draw-down and buildup from wireline formation testers
 Log analysis
 Core analysis Again many orders of magnitude separate the effective radius of
investigation of each method.
It should be no surprise that different measurement methods produce disparate results. In a

heterogeneous reservoir this is to be expected. Where the drilling process has caused clay swelling in
the invaded zone it is also to be expected that measurements made near the wellbore (logs, cores,
MST tests) will reflect permeabilities that are lower than true permeabilities. Permeability data from
cores may vary with the type of fluid (air or brine) used and the pressure and temperature of the
sample at the time of the measurement (standard or reservoir conditions).
Many investigators have attempted to correlate rock permeability to measurements made by wireline
logging tools. These measurements fall into two categories; those that apply above the transition zone
and those that apply only in the transition zone.
Measurement of Saturation
Fluid saturations are usually estimated well with log analysis techniques provided formations are clean
and connate waters are saline. Problems arise with shaly formations and fresh formation waters. Other
methods of saturation determination are available from proper coring and core analysis techniques,
and mud logging.
Many similarities exist between the flow of fluids and the flow of electric current through a rock. The
permeability to water, for example, is analogous to the electrical conductivity of a porous system, since
both depend on interconnected pores. In the case where both oil and water are present in a pore
system there is another parallel between relative permeability to water and electrical conductivity of an
oil-bearing sand.
Investigation of the electrical properties of water and oil-bearing rocks was pioneered by Archie. A
good starting point for following the development of his experimental observations is the electrical
behavior of electrolytes and water-filled rocks.
Water Resistivity
Connate waters range in resistivity from about 0.01Ωm up to 10.0Ωm depending on the salinity and
temperature of the solution. To find water saturation by quantitative analysis of porosity and resistivity
logs requires a value of Rw. For our basic concept we only need to understand that the ability of a rock
to conduct electricity is due entirely to ions in the water that fills the pores.
The method Archie used to develop his empirical water saturation relationship was simple; he took a
number of cores of different porosity and saturated each one with a variety of brines. Then he could
measure the resistivity of the brine and the resistivity of the brine saturated core in each case. He then
plotted the results to calculate the formation factor „F‟:
Ro F .Rw
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Archie found that laboratory measured values could also be related to the porosity of the rock by an
equation of the form:
a
F m
Where a and m are experimentally determined constants; a is usually close to „1‟ and m is usually
close to „2‟
Saturation
Archie's experiments found that the ratio of partially saturated core resistivity to 100% saturated core
resistivity was related to the partial water saturation. A more generalized form this equation can be
written where "n" is called the saturation exponent and is usually set to „2‟, as below:
2 Rw
Sw 2
.Rt
These classical Archie relationships work well in clean formations. In shaly formations and where
connate water is fresh they do not work as well. Archie's model assumes that the electrolyte in the
pores is the only conductive path. Additional conductive paths exist due to surface conductance
effects; these are only noticeable when they begin to provide a substantial percentage of the total rock
system conductivity.
Practical Petrophysics
A proper marriage between Petrophysics and log analysis can produce some spectacular results. One
of the most interesting observations is; that when a formation is above the transition zone, and thus at
irreducible water saturation, the product Φ x Swi is a constant. Variations of porosity are expected on a
local scale, due both to changes in depositional environment at the time the sediments were laid down,
and to subsequent diagenesis. If porosity is reduced locally, then a greater proportion of the pore
throats are small ones, or there are simply fewer pore throats. Either way the mean radius, r, is
smaller, thus capillary pressure is larger and more water can be held in the pores, maintaining the
constant Φ x Swi product. This has a practical application. After a zone has been analyzed for porosity
and water saturation on a foot-by-foot basis, then a plot of Φ vs. Sw will reveal the presence or
absence of a transition zone.
Reservoirs may be characterized by the Φ x Swi product, and this knowledge used as a basis for
predicting water-free production. For points not at irreducible, some water production is to be expected
depending on the mobility ratio for the particular fluids present. In a low porosity, low permeability
formation surprisingly high water saturations can be tolerated without fear of water production.
Conversely, water production can be expected from zones with good porosity, permeability, and
moderate values of Sw. This salient fact is all too often overlooked by those who were once taught that
provided Sw was less than 40% (or 50%, 60%, or whatever) then all their troubles were over but not to
attempt completions if Sw was greater than a certain „cutoff‟ value. Completions can be made in zones
where Sw is as high as 65, 70 and even 75% provided permeability is low.
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Averaging
Averaging is a dangerous game; the average depth of the Mississippi River is three feet, but that does
not mean that you can wade from one side to the other at New Orleans without being prepared either
to swim or to drown. Likewise, when we talk of "average porosity," "average saturation" and "average
permeability" we should be careful how we calculate and how we use them.
For example a well has two zones. One is at 10% porosity and the other is at 20% porosity. Is the
average porosity 15%? Not necessarily. If the 10% zone is 30 ft thick and the 20% zone is 50 ft thick
obviously the average is skewed in favor of the thicker zone. The correct way to average porosities is
to take a weighted average.
Water saturation averaging can be an even more deadly trap. If we have 30 ft at 15% Sw and 50 ft at
25% Sw we cannot compute an average Sw without also knowing the porosity. Why? Because we
need to compute the total (porosity x feet) and the total (hydrocarbon x pore x feet) and use those
figures for averaging.
Summary
The conduction of electric current through a porous rock is analogous to the flow of fluid through the
rock. Measurement by wireline tools of formation conductivity are related to formation porosity,
permeability and fluid saturation. By combining the basic relationships established by Archie with the
physics of fluid distribution and flow in a reservoir, the analyst may determine the free water level, the
length of the transition zone and the irreducible water saturation. From these parameters one can
estimate productivity.
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Coring
The objectives of coring are to bring a sample of the formation and its pore fluids to the surface in an
unaltered state, preserve it, and transport it to a laboratory for analysis. These objectives are hard to
meet since the very act of cutting a core will, to some extent, alter both the sample properties and the
saturation of the fluids in its pores.
There are a number of techniques for minimizing damage to formation samples. Other methods may
also be used at the time the core is analyzed, aimed at restoring the original state of the sample
under reservoir conditions.
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Wireline Coring
Two wireline techniques are currently in use for retrieving formation samples; conventional Sidewall
Coring and Rotary Sidewall Coring.
Sidewall cores are retrieved with a Sidewall Core Gun, the gun body carries a number of hollow steel
barrels which can be fired individually into the formation by means of explosive charges. The barrels
are propelled by gas pressure built up behind the barrel, which is released when two brass or steel
pins shear. Once lodged in the rock, the barrel is retrieved by flexible steel cables. Pulling the gun
uphole or using a limited up /down motion on the winch is usually sufficient to dislodge the bullet with
the formation sample inside.
The gun can be correlated on depth with other logs using an SP electrode or some form of shooting
Gamma Ray tool. This allows correct positioning prior to sampling. These guns come in a variety of
shapes and sizes. They are capable of retrieving 24 samples per gun, and are often run as „triples‟, for
96 shots. The diameter of the core barrel may be anywhere between ¾” and 1 1/8”.
The length of the core retrieved is a function of many variables; the strength of the explosive load,
the type of core barrel, the hardness of the formation, and the selection of appropriate „cutter‟ rings.
The lengths of the recovered samples may vary from less than ¼” to 2”. At times the retainer wires
used to retrieve the core barrel will break and the bullet will be lost in the formation. In other hard
rock formations the barrel may even simply bounce off the formation (there are different barrels,
especially for hard rock situation). In some unconsolidated formations, the sample may be so friable
that it crumbles when driven from the barrel using a core press
Once all the samples have been collected, the gun is raised to the surface and each core sample is
stored in a glass jar or in special airtight bags, or packed in dry ice to reduce the loss of any
volatiles, then marked with the well name and the depth at which it was cut. These types of cores
may be analyzed for porosity, permeability and hydrocarbon content.
There are limitations to the data that can be obtained from sidewall cores, firstly; the sample will
have been retrieved from a part of the formation that has most likely been flushed with mud filtrate.
Secondly; shooting the core barrel into the formation may alter the porosity and permeability of the
rock sample. Finally; the trip to the surface through the mud column may cause fluids to be flushed from
the sample. Despite these drawbacks, sidewall cores are still good quick-look indicators of
formation properties.
It is normal practice to inspect the cores at the wellsite for, hydrocarbon odor, fluorescence, stain
and cut, and to record the retrieved length together with information about lost barrels and those
barrels that didn‟t to yield a core.
The Rotary Sidewall Coring Tool (RSCT) uses a motorized bit to drill into the borehole wall to
retrieve samples. It is capable of cutting 30 core samples per trip in the hole. Core diameter is
15/16” and 1-3/4 in. long. Each core takes about five to ten minutes to cut in hard formations, and
slightly longer in softer rocks. This device works better than the conventional sidewall core gun in
consolidated formations and causes very little physical damage to the sample. Recovery in good
hole conditions is usually high.
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Conventional Coring
When a point is reached to cut a conventional core (a drilling break, a pre-planned depth, etc.), the
drill pipe is removed from the hole. It is then dressed with a hollow core bit and a hollow barrel
equipped with a non-rotating inner barrel.
Cores can be from 10 to 60ft long and from 1 7/8” to 4 ½” in diameter. If unconsolidated formations
are cored, a rubber sleeve is used to hold the friable material more securely. For some
applications, a special pressure core can be cut. The core barrel is designed so that after the core
is cut, it is maintained at original reservoir pressure until it arrives at the laboratory. Pressure cores
are normally frozen at the wellsite for transportation. Oriented cores may also be cut; the original
orientation of the core relative to north is maintained by use of a special scribe which cuts a groove
in the core. This kind of core is valuable in fractured reservoirs, where the fracture orientation can
be important. Bed dip and azimuth may also be deduced from such a core. Whole cores can
sometimes be oriented by logging the hole with the Circumferential Acoustic Scanning Tool
(CAST).
Depending on the type of fluid present in the hole while coring, the saturations of gas, oil and water
in the core may be increased, decreased, or unchanged. Water-base muds, for example, produce
a water filtrate that invades the core and displaces hydrocarbons. Oil-base muds with an oil filtrate
may replace reservoir oil by flushing, but do not substantially alter the original oil saturation.
For some applications, it is of no consequence if fluid saturations change (i.e. if the core is being
cut only for porosity and permeability estimates, the change of water saturation is not important).
Saturation changes in cores can take place at three different times; when the core is cut, as it
travels in the core barrel from the reservoir to the surface, and at the surface during transportation
and storage. It is worthwhile to review the causes and approximate magnitudes of these saturation
changes. Once the core is retrieved at surface, precautions must be taken to prevent further
saturation changes.
At the surface, the core is exposed to the atmosphere, where evaporation of water and light
hydrocarbons can occur. It is normal practice to store the core immediately in a protective
environment. Storage methods used include:
 Freezing the core with dry ice

 Wrapping cores in plastic bags
 Wrapping cores in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil and sealing them with paraffin wax
 Submergence under de-aerated water
 Submergence under non-oxidizing crude
Rubber-sleeve cores are normally left in the sleeve, although they may be sliced into shorter
lengths to ease handling.
Summary
Cores can be cut in a variety of ways. Great care should be taken to plan the coring fluid,
transportation, and storage of cores in order to preserve the fluid saturation of interest Depending
on the initial reservoir conditions and coring fluid used, the saturations of oil, water or gas in cores
arriving at the lab may be considerably different than it was in the formation.
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Measurement While Drilling
MWD plays an increasingly important role in modern drilling practices. It provides an operator with
almost immediate feedback regarding both the geometry of the hole being drilled and the character-
istics of the formations penetrated. Without MWD, this information is only available after drilling, using
deviation surveys and wireline logs. Of particular benefit is that MWD can be used when drilling
directional wells and/or when over pressured formations are of concern. With the information MWD
supplies more or less in real time, the driller may take appropriate action such as changing weight on
bit, increasing mud weight or pulling out of hole for a conventional logging run.
MWD Measurements
Many different MWD measuring systems are in use today, but they all have the following common
characteristics:
 Downhole sensor sub;
 Power source;
 Telemetry system
 Surface equipment
The downhole sensor subs contain instrumentation capable of measuring some of the following
parameters:
 Torque, Weight on bit, Borehole pressure, Borehole temperature, Tool face angle
 Natural gamma ray, Acoustic travel time, Resistivity, Porosity (including MRI)
 Hole deviation & azimuth.
The power source for the sensors and telemetry system can be one of three types:
 Surface power source;

 Downhole turbine
 Downhole batteries.
With a surface power source, it is necessary to make electrical connections between the surface and
the downhole sensors, which in turn requires either a special drillpipe or an electric cable.
In the case of a downhole turbine, the circulating mud drives an electric generator in the MWD drill
collar. This requires an increase in the hydraulic horsepower from the mud pumps in order to
maintain circulation.
In the case of batteries, no special cables or additional mud pump power is required, but the MWD
system is limited by the life of the batteries used. Once they are discharged, no further
measurements can be made; the MWD sub must be retrieved and re-dressed with fresh batteries
MWD Telemetry
The most common telemetry system uses coded mud pressure pulses. The output from a specific
sensor is encoded as a series of pressure pulses which are detected and decoded at the surface.
The pressure pulses may be over pressure or under pressure anomalies introduced respectively by
downhole valves either "shorting" or "choking" the mud circulation.
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Coded mud pressure pulses are not the only means available for telemetry. Other methods, either in
use or under experimentation, include: electromagnetic E-mode (electric current) or H-mode
(magnetic field); acoustic telemetry through drill pipe and/or tubing (in straight holes), or through the
earth by seismic waves; hardwired systems; systems with self-energizing repeaters; and hybrid
systems that combine various transmission methods.
In most systems, the transmission of data to the surface is selective. For example, a measurement of
hole deviation and azimuth may require that the drilling process be temporarily halted and the drill
string held motionless. Readings are then accumulated in a "buffer" and only transmitted to the
surface when mud circulation recommences.
MWD Surface Equipment
The surface equipment consists of a mud pulse decoder (or other type, depending on the telemetry
method); signal processing hardware, and software which produce the output the drilling engineer
requires. Output may be in the form of a visual display on the rig floor or at a remote site, or as a
hard copy log of the parameters recorded. Data is also recorded digitally for analysis.
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Dielectric
The measurement of formation resistivity is one of the main surveys performed to determine
water saturation (Sw). Low frequency tools (Laterolog, Induction) detect Sw changes by the associ-
ated changes in true resistivity (Rt). This works very well if the „connate‟ water is salty (low Rw), but is
less effective at lower water salinities. Higher frequency tools detect saturation changes by the
measuring dielectric constant Є.
The major use of dielectric logs is to estimate the value of Sxo (flushed zone water saturation), which
can be compared with Sw to identify moved hydrocarbons. Another useful output is the calculation of
water-filled porosity in the region of investigation. A Microlog is often coupled with a dielectric tool for
additional indication of permeability.
In addition, dielectric tools can be used to determine water saturation, Sxo or Sw in formations where
Rw) is high, unknown, or variable. This is possible because the estimate of water saturation from the
dielectric measurement is affected only slightly by connate water salinity. Dielectric logs can
therefore differentiate between oil and fresh water.
The High Frequency Dielectric tool (HFD) uses a pad-mounted antenna array to measure the
speed and attenuation of microwaves through the formation. The signals at the 3 receivers and
the signal reflected back to the transmitter are each compared to the 1 GHz transmitted signal to
determine phase shift (in degrees) and attenuation (in decibels). These measurements may be
shown on a separate log, but the standard presentation is of the 3 resistivities and dielectric
constants. The resistivity and dielectric values are calculated from the individual receiver phase shifts
and attenuations.
The dielectric constant Є affects the speed and attenuation of electromagnetic waves that
propagate through a medium. Attenuation (lower amplitude microwave) is primarily the result of
lower formation resistivity and spherical wave spreading, and the phase shift (slower microwave) is
primarily the result of a higher dielectric constant. By measuring the phase shift and attenuation, the
dielectric permittivity and resistivity of the medium are found. The permittivity is compared to the
dielectric permittivity of a vacuum, and the relative dielectric constant of the formation is obtained.
Note: The above approach assumes that the microwaves are plane waves. This is not entirely
true; since the receivers are close to the transmitter, the wave front is near-spherical, and there
are some boundary effects. Corrections for these are made when calculating R and Є.
Factors Affecting the Dielectric
 Since the values of R and Є measured by the HFD are made at spacing‟s of 0, 8, 12, and 17
cm from the transmitter, the depth of investigation is shallow (1-4 in.). The 17 cm
measurement is almost free of mudcake effects, while the shallower measurements are
more affected. A comparison of R17 to R8 may be used to detect the presence of mudcake in
a manner analogous to the Microlog.
 Rugosity will deteriorate the response of the HFD since the measurements are shallow and
short-spaced. The effect will be most severe on the 0 and 8 cm measurements, and least
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severe on the 17 cm measurement. The lower sensitivity of R17 and Є17 to rugosity and
mudcake make them a logical choice for determining Sxo and water-filled porosity.
 Mudcake and invasion effects are less severe on lower-frequency dielectric tools (LFD and
DPT), since they probe deeper (1-4 ft) into the formation than the HFD, however they tend to
see a complicated combination of the flushed zone and uninvaded zone.
 Vertical resolution on the HFD is excellent, the reflected transmitter signal has a 0.5 in
resolution, and the three receivers have resolution similar to the Microlog (about 1-4 in.).
Vertical resolution for low frequency dielectric tools is on the order of 2-4 ft
Use of the Dielectric
The dielectric constant is proportional to the number of polar molecules in the formation. If we apply
an electric field to a material, the electric charges inside the body will rearrange slightly (polarize).
Some molecules hold their electrons so tightly that there is very little realignment of the electron
shells, while others are quite *malleable' and easily change shape under the field's influence. The
end result is that the molecules, which were electrically inert before the field was applied, now have
a slight positive charge at one end and an equal negative charge at the other end. Materials with the
highest dielectric constant „Є‟ will have the greatest displacement or separation of positive and
negative charges. These molecules have a large dipole moment.
Some molecules are permanent dipoles; they always have a net positive charge at one end and
negative at the other. Water is one of the most polar materials found in nature. Its molecules form
permanent dipoles, so it has much larger dielectric constant than most materials.
Dielectric measurements can be used to estimate:

 Bulk Volume Water; then by comparison with Neutron/Density porosity it is possible to
estimate Sw.
 Moveable hydrocarbons by comparison with other deeper reading dielectric devices.
 Variable „m‟ in Archie‟s Equation
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Appendix II – Office Procedures
Outlook Properties, ESS & Expenses (TTP Module)
Email communication throughout the company makes use of Outlook. It‟s important that your
personal details are up to date, that way it‟s easy to contact you either by phone or through the mail
system. Personal details are easily updated using ESS; there a few critical items you‟ll need to set up
for expenses and direct deposit, which are described below.
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Outlook Properties
Locate the HALWORLD homepage, and click on ESS on the right…
You should see a screen like that below, click on ESS on the upper left
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If you are correctly set up for ESS access, you‟ll see the following. You‟ll also be prompted to log off
when finished, in order to protect your personal information from unauthorized access.
Select Outlook Properties from the left side menu options. There are several sub-sections where you
can make changes. The options are self explanatory. Location and contact telephone are displayed
below; choose the ones appropriate for your location. Once you‟ve finished making changes, be sure
to save them.
Note: if you don‟t know the location telephone, try searching for someone else at your location using
the address book function in Outlook (see below).
We recommend entering your current position as „self opted functional title‟; most likely this would be
„Associate Field Professional‟. Standardization on opted title makes it relatively easy for others to
identify and create distribution lists and communicate with specific groups. Assistant and notes will
probably not have an entry.
Note: After updating, you‟ll probably not see these changes reflected in your Outlook properties for a
day or so.
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When you open outlook; depending on how you configured the screen, expect to see something like
that below.
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Once your properties have been updated, confirm them by searching on your name. Open Outlook;
depending on how you have the screen configured. You‟ll find the address book to the right of the
„find‟ button, at the top of the page. Click on it, enter your name, double click and the properties
should show correctly.
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ESS
ESS has many other features; places where you can make changes and update information.
Highlighted below among the left menu options are critical areas where you can make changes to
personal information, enter expenses, view salary and expense deposits to your bank account and
create business related expenses. In these areas be sure to exercise caution and double check the
entries you make, particularly regarding bank deposit information.
Note: Salary deposit and expense check deposit both need to have an account selected. The account
used for expense deposit is not defaulted to the same account as that used for salary deposit.
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Another menu item you may find useful is „Office‟ this can be used as an address book, where you
can search for others in the company. If you search for your own name you‟ll find details such as your
country code and cost center; these you‟ll need to know if you require a cash advance.
Expenses
Business related expenses are entered in either ESS or directly into SAP. We recommend that you
enter expenses into an expense report as they occur; it‟s usually easier to keep track of them and
avoids accumulating lots of entries at the end of the month. Most locations prefer to have expense
reports that cover a whole month, at times for many reasons, this may not be practical, check with
your supervisor if you need to make multiple expense submissions at shorter intervals.
Note: When you first join the company, you may be submitting expenses for relocation; these have to
be entered on a separate report from other business expenses as taxes are handled differently.
If you have SAP access, using SAP for expense entry offers one advantage, SAP appears to „time-
out‟ less frequently than ESS. If you use ESS be sure to save your work periodically, otherwise you‟ll
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lose the entries you‟ve made. The entry screens are very similar; the illustrations below are from
direct SAP expense entry.
Note: one word of caution; you only have three tries; accessing SAP with username/password. If
these attempts fail, you‟ll have to ask IT for a password reset. We recommend trying once, if you
have no success gaining access via SAP use ESS instead.
SAP logon is via: Start\All programs\SAP front-end\SAP logon

Log on to „production‟. Enter username and password.
Note: It is advisable to save the path as a favourite for future use, or remember the „Z‟ code PR05.
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Click on PR05, unless you have previously entered expenses there may be no listing. Click on
„Create‟, top left. Most likely this will be a domestic trip.
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Below is the blank form. Set the dates, reason, etc. the cost center will default to your current cost
center. In some instances expenses are charged to other cost centers, if you have any doubts about
where your expenses are to be charged ask your supervisor for clarification.
Each expense is in the form of a line item. The process is the same in each case.
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Select the correct cost code (relocation has a set of different codes, located at the bottom of the list).
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Fill in the date, amount and double click description. Be explicit, if you have a per diem, note the
number of days and the daily rate for your location. If you are expensing mileage, note the number of
miles and the current applicable mileage rate (For mileage you‟ll need to attach a „map quest‟ route
confirming the mileage you are claiming).
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Company expense policies can at the time of writing be found here…
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Once you have entered all line items, set the trip status to „Open‟. That way you can add other line
items until you are ready to submit for approval.
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When you are ready for approval, display the results and save the file to your hard drive in some
convenient place (click System\List\Save\Local File and follow the instructions. Recommend saving in
rtf format.
Open the rtf file and print two copies, one for your own reference and one for submission with your
expenses. Complete an SAP envelope and place inside; the originals of your expense receipts and
your expense report copy. Process the envelope locally or send to Duncan. We recommend sending
an email to your supervisor (the one who approves your expenses), tell him that the expenses are on
SAP for approval, let him know the expense „trip number‟, and your SAP I.D. so he can approve.
Note: attach your original expense receipts to standard size sheets so they can be easily
photocopied, don‟t staple them. Arrange them chronologically so they can be quickly identified
against the expense report. The quicker the expenses can be scrutinized and the fewer questions
they generate, the faster they tend to be approved and transferred for payment!
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References
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Appendix III – Logging Support
Portal Overview & Report posting (TTP Module)
The „Logging‟ Portal (Knowledge Management or KM Portal) was created for a number of reasons;
one of those reasons was to ensure continuity of knowledge. Many oilfield service companies and
indeed Oil companies themselves suspect they will face a shortage of experienced workers in the
years ahead; the concern is that the bulk of experienced employees are closing in on retirement with
few able to fill the gap. The portal is one way to capture some of the knowledge in the organization,
before it is lost or forgotten.
The portal serves as both an archive for information and, through „collaboration‟, provides a means to
ask and respond to questions and to discuss topics related to specialized areas of the company‟s
business.
The Wireline & Perforating Portal is open, and can be accessed by all company employees.
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myHalliburton.com
One way to get to the Wireline and Perforating portal is through „myHalliburton.com‟. Type
„myHalliburton.com‟ in your browser URL…
Wait for the page to load and hover over KM subscriptions, you‟ll notice „manage KM subscriptions‟,
click on that…
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Highlight and transfer over to the right hand pane; Wireline and Perforating Services. Click „finish‟.
Hover once more over the KM subscriptions button and you should see the Wireline and Perforating
Services Community available, click on this…
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The main page has links to other related areas on top left. In the center towards the bottom of the
screen you‟ll see the „Collaboration Tool‟, where much of the technical discussion takes place.
Adding or responding to an item is easy, but remember to tread cautiously and observe good
etiquette when posting replies or asking questions. It‟s also wise to take a look through previous posts
before asking a question, in case the question has been asked before. To see earlier posts switch to
„Full Page View‟ and there you‟ll find a search option which will „hit‟ all collaboration items, open or
closed.
The Learning Center page can also be accessed from here, as follows: Click on „Logging Ops/Maint-
SQ/HSE‟ on the top left of the screen.
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Accessing the Learning Center page & posting Job and Field Reports
The next link is to WPS Learning Center, again on the left of the screen, click on this…
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This is the Learning Center page (might be worth saving this location as a favorite! Scroll down the
page and a number of projects should show there, click on L&P Associate Field Professional
Reports…
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Click on the documents tab. Find the folder:
 Natural Work Areas – here you‟ll find a folder for your NWA.
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In this case I‟ve chosen the US…
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Locate your NWA – in this example I‟ve chosen south east…
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Create a folder here (use your name to identify it) if you don‟t have one already, using „New sub-
Folder‟. Upload the reporting Spreadsheet to your folder.
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You will be working with a single spreadsheet, for both Job & Weekly reports & the task list – after
each job, check-out and update the spreadsheet, then check it back in, so that it can be accessed.
The check-out feature is controlled by the icon farthest to the right. You can easily access the report
page by selecting it as a „project‟ on „myHalliburton.com‟
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Appendix IV – Tool Specifications
HALWORLD
Tool specifications are accessible on HALWORLD; on the next page is a short summary for the more
common open-hole tools. DOI refers to „depth of investigation, VR refers to vertical resolution.
Tool DOI VR Frequency Range Rating
Resistivity
ACRt 10”, 9”, 1, 2 or 4ft 12, 36, 72 kHz 0.2-1k ohmm 350F/20k psi
30”, 60”,
90”
HRIT 350F/20k psi
Deep 91” 24” 20 kHz 0.1-2k ohmm
Medium 39” 24” 20 kHz 0.1-2k ohmm
DFL ~17” ~17” 1.25 kHz 0.1-2k ohmm
DLLT-I 350F/20k psi
Deep 60-74” 24” 131.25 Hz 0.2-40k ohmm
Shallow 24-36” 24” 1050 Hz 0.2-2k ohmm
MSFT 1-4” 3” 960 Hz 0.2-2k ohmm 350F/20k psi
Acoustic
FWST ~6” ~12” 15khz ~40-190 μsec/ft 350F/20k psi
WSTT-I 350F/20k psi
Monopole ~1-3ft 6” 2-20kHz
Dipole ~1-3ft 6” 500-6 kHz
Nuclear
DSNT-I 6” 24” -2-100 PU 350F/20k psi
SDLT-I 350F/20k psi
Density 1.5” 18” 1-3.1 gm/cc
PEF 0.5” 19” 0-20
D4TG 11” 10-36” 0-1000 API 350F/20k psi
GTET 11” 18” 0-1000 API 350F/20k psi
5/26/2011 170

WPS - Starting Point

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WPS Starting Point

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Halliburton Energy Services Fort Worth Training Center

Fossils – AGI Shale

API Gravity = (141.5/ SG) – 131.5

Geology – The composition of the earth

Earth model - USGS

Plate Tectonics - USGS

Conglomerate – AGI Shale - AGI

Normal Fault – AGI Reverse Fault - USGS

Lenticular Trap – AGI Angular unconformity (Eroded monocline) – AGI

Anticline Salt Dome

Cubic Packing Rhombohedral Packing

Hydrostatic pressure (psi) = 0.05195 x Mud wt (#/gal) x TVD (ft)

Muds & Logging

Note: resistivities of salt solutions generally drop as temperature is

Origin of Natural Gamma Rays

The detected pulse is amplified, shaped

Gamma ray Photo Multiplier Tube

Gamma ray logs and most other logs require

In practice a reference tool is calibrated at the

Compensated Spectral Natural Gamma Ray

And between bulk density to formation porosity:

Vmatrix V fluid Vbulk .

Vbulk V fluid . matrix V fluid . fluid Vbulk . bulk

1 . matrix . fluid bulk

matrix bulk matrix fluid

SDL – pad contact and mud cake effects

SDL – shop calibration blocks

Uses of the Density

Element Slowing down cross-section Collisions to reach 0.025eV

Element Thermal Neutron capture cross-section

Distribution of Thermal Neutrons as a Function of

Uses of the Neutron

Liquid Junction Impermeable

Factors Affecting the SP

 Calculation of Formation water resistivity

 Focused electric logs

Although modern resistivity measuring

DLL – Unconstrained or unfocussed current flow

Subsequently, Laterologs evolved in a number of

Today, the most commonly used Laterolog tool is

The MSFL makes a single, very shallow resistivity

Uses of the Laterolog

Note: During calibration we calculate the magnitude

HRI – shop „loop‟ calibration

Factors Affecting the Induction

Use of the Induction

Automatic Borehole Correction Algorithm

Software Focusing Algorithm

Triple Frequency Array

The ACRt may be used to:

Determine resistivity of the un-invaded zone (Rt)

Skin Effect Correction

High Resolution Array Induction Log – Sensitivity to Invasion

The received waveform is a composite of

Basic sonic logging involves measuring the arrival

Uses of the Sonic